Again
by XyaLla
Summary: "Don't. I don't need anyone saying a fucking thing to me. She's one of them now. We have a rule. End of discussion. It's over." "She's your god damn imprint, Paul! You expect yourself to just walk away from her? You think any of us, including Sam, expect you to just walk away from her?"
1. Author's Note

_**I know A/N's are annoying sometimes, but at least read the plot disclaimer. Thank you!**_

 _ **Plot Disclaimer**_

 _Okay so I haven't read any stories with the plot that I have planned out, so no I didn't copy this idea from anyone. If there is a story/stories that have already done this, then okay. I'm just saying I did not purposely copy someone else's idea. It's complete coincidence if someone else has already come up with something like this._

 **I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA OR THE CHARACTERS WITHIN THE SERIES. BUT I DO OWN MY OWN CHARACTERS.**

 _ **Enjoy!**_


	2. One: Paul

_"She's screaming in my head_

 _I left her where I slept_

 _Somewhere, I can't escape_

 _I'm running from myself_

 _Somewhere in between in love and broken_

 _I'm in hell" — Again, Noah Cyrus ft. XXXTENTACION_

 _ **Paul**_

I don't run from a challenge. Tucking tail and walking away has never been something I was good at. Not even before my transition.

My anger was completely uncontrollable and my ability to simply walk away was nonexistent.

I'd always been the fighter of the family. Whether my anger got the best of me and I swung on someone for getting an attitude, or I got so angry I would cry.

Emily, my alpha Sam's fiancé, says I'll most likely never find a wife because I don't know how to be vulnerable and "soft". I'm not good at expressing the kind of gooey emotions required to ever be in love.

It's not that I don't want to do so, I mean, I'm childish and goofy and lovable...it's just that I have issues trusting people.

Ever since my mother left my dad when I was eight, I haven't gotten very attached to many people outside of my family. That was 10 years ago, and I even have difficulty trusting people to this day.

But that changed when I met her. Marisela Augustine.

She had been in my English class, a foreign exchange student from Italy but she had moved there from France.

She was the most beautiful human being I had ever seen.

Golden skin, dark hair, full lips and brown eyes.

The absolute most kind person I had ever met in my entire existence, aside from Emily, and the moment I saw her I was determined to get her.

I didn't even have to date her. Just being friends satisfied me. We stayed friends, close friends. She would come over and eat dinner with me and my family.

But that all changed when I phased for the first time. My priorities shifted. I stopped going to school, I stopped talking to my friends...I even stopped talking to Marisela. Which was pretty fucking hard to do because I had imprinted on her before I dropped school completely. I hadn't known what was going on with me and I didn't want to risk hurting her.

She was beyond pissed when I dropped her for "no reason".

So pissed that she came looking for me.

I had been at Emily's, eating, when I heard the car door slam. Everyone had looked at me, catching her scent, and Sam stopped eating momentarily.

 _"Dude, your ass grass." Jared told me._

 _"And Mari's gonna mow it." Embry added._

 _"Behave." Emily told them sternly as there was a knock at the door._

 _She went to open the door and I squeezed my eyes shut, rubbing my face for a second._

 _Emily opened the door and greeted her. Marisela returned it politely and moved past her and looked at me._

 _"Paul," she crossed her arms and I pretended I didn't hear her, eating my food and looking straight ahead._

 _The tone in the room shifted. They pitied her because she couldn't know what we were, and if she did know it would help her understand things better. But because she couldn't know, it made things so complicated._

 _Sam had given me permission to tell her about us, since she was my imprint, but I refused to._

Paul, go talk to her, _Embry's thoughts invaded mine and I looked at him._

There's nothing to talk about _, I think back and they all stare at me._

 _Marisela walked to me, snatching my plate of food out from under me and I look at her as if she just murdered my dad._

 _"You'll get this back when you acknowledge my existence." She told me bitterly and I sighed, noticing that everyone was trying not to laugh. "Outside, now." She set the food on the counter and went outside. I followed her, hearing mumbles about how I was already whipped._

 _"Mari—"_

 _"What did I do wrong?" She asked me._

 _I sighed, looking down. I hated this. I hated hurting her. But it was to protect her._

 _"You didn't do anything wrong." I assured her._

 _"Then why the hell have you dropped me? I thought everything was okay."_

 _"It's not your fault. It's not. It's nothing you did, or anyone else. It's me. I just need time to myself."_

 _"Bullshit." She snapped and I rolled my jaw. "You're not telling me the truth and I know you aren't."_

 _"What do you want me to do? What can I do to make you happy so you'll hop off." My anger gets the best of me and I spit the words venomously at her._

 _"Be honest with me."_

 _"I can't do that." I shake my head._

 _"Okay." She nodded, tears gathering in her eyes. "Well, then, whenever you're out of whatever the hell kind of phase you're going through, don't bother trying to get ahold of me again." She turned on her heal and walked back to her car._

 _I took deep breaths, trying not to run after her as she drove off._

 _I went back inside, my teeth grinding together as I sat down and ignored my pack._

 _"She's going back to Italy." Emily says._

 _"What?" I look at him._

 _"She's going back to Italy. She told me a couple of weeks ago that her mom's really sick and she has to go back for a little while. Maybe you would know that if you didn't punish her for something you couldn't prevent from happening." Emily said next, raising her brows. She didn't say it in a mean way, just "maybe you should listen to Sam and just be honest with her" way._

 _I stood up from the table and left, shifting to my wolf form and running in the direction that she had left in._

I thought things were complicated back then when none of it even compared to what the hell was going on now.

Marisela was covered in blood, that didn't belong to her, staring off into space as Carlisle Cullen tried to soothe her and reassure her that she would be okay.

The Cullen's were the closest vampire clan to us. They were "vegetarian", only eating animals instead of feeding on human flesh. But they were still soulless, dead, cold creatures.

Me and the rest of the pack stood in their living room, waiting on Sam to get here.

She'd gone to Italy for several months, and when she came back, it all went to hell.

One minute me and the pack were chasing an unfamiliar vampire that was on our land, and the next minute we realized it was her.

She was scared to death, coated in blood from feeding, and scared to death. Sam instructed us to take her to Carlisle, and so we did.

"When did you turn?" Carlisle asked her lowly and she looked at me.

"Two days ago in Seattle. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. My throat was on fire and I just needed relief." She croaked out and Carlisle gave her a sympathetic look.

I had told her about Vampires being our biggest enemy when I showed her I was a wolf the last day I saw her before she left.

She was completely in shock, but reacted to it better than I thought she would have.

She reacted to it better than I'm reacting to her own change...

I was repulsed. Not by her, but what she was now. My whole body aches as I look at her stained clothes, her hair in mats from dried blood clumping it up. She was now dead.

I couldn't fathom never hearing her heart beat again, never enjoying the warmth of her hands playfully hitting me. Her scent. Her normal, human, scent had been replaced with that of strong fragrance. It was more tolerable than the other's, but still just as potent.

She didn't know she was my imprint. She didn't know I'd been through hell the months she wasn't here.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Esme, Carlisle's wife, told her very gently.

Marisela nodded a little, avoiding looking at me anymore.

I wanted to go with them. Not so I could see Mari naked, but so I could check on her and try to talk to her. But I couldn't bring myself to follow them as they left us downstairs.

"She'll Be Okay." Edward, Carlisle's son, suddenly said to me.

"She will." I tell him. "I won't." I shake my head before storming out.

The other's follow me and I find the nearest tree and punch it with everything I have.

"Paul," Jared started but I stopped him.

"Don't. I don't need anyone saying a fucking thing to me. She's one of them now. We have a rule. End of discussion. It's over."

"She's your god damn imprint, Paul! You expect yourself to just walk away from her? You think any of us, including Sam, expect you to just walk away from her?" He argues and I turn to face him.

It takes everything in me not to cry. I don't cry. But now seems like a pretty damn good time to cry.

"You wanna go back to Emily's?" Embry offers.

"No." I shake my head, shaking from trying to keep my emotions at bay.

"Wanna go running?" He goes with a different alternative.

"No." I reply, my voice thick from oncoming tears that I am fighting to hold back.

"Wanna stay here?" Quil asks and I shake my head, not knowing what the hell I want.

We hear something coming, and our attention turns to Sam as walks toward us from the tree line.

"Where is she?" He asked.

"Getting washed off." Jared told him and Sam looked at me.

"Paul," he started.

"I know. 'She's your imprint. This doesn't change that'. But guess what? Yes, it fucking does. It changes everything!"

"Look," Sam grabs the back of my neck, looking me in the eyes. "We all care about her, Okay?"

"She's one of them, now." I scoff. "Tell me what to do with that. Tell me how we're gonna explain that I'm with a vampire."

"You did not imprint on a vampire. You imprinted on a human who was turned by no choice of her own." He stated sternly. "That's what we say.

"Like it'll help any." I snarl.

Sam glares over my shoulder and I turn to see he's looking at Esme.

"She's asking for you." She tells me politely and Sam looks at me.

"Go see her." He demands.

"Sam—" I start to complain but he stops me.

"I don't care. Go." He pushes me and I huff out a breath and follow Esme inside. Jared follows me as Esme leads me up the stairs to the bathroom Mari's in.

"She's very scared right now, so, please, be patient with her. Though I doubt you wouldn't be anything but." She speaks in a whisper and I nod.

She knocks on the door before opening it.

"Marisela, your friend's here." She tells her.

I come in, seeing Mari sitting in the red stained, porcelain tub. She looked like hell. Her curly hair was in tangles, her flesh that was once golden was now paler in complexion. Not as white as the Cullen's but still sickly looking.

It hurt me to see her so confused and dazed.

Her eyes were what really caught me off guard. Her once dark brown orbs were now a scarlet red, and I hated it.

I wanted to tear apart whoever did this to her. Whoever put her in this position. I should've protected her better. I shouldn't have let her go. I should've fought harder for her.

 _You didn't know_ , Jared tells me in my mind and I look at him.

I walk to Marisela, cautiously, and she looks up at me.

She grips the edge of the tub so hard that it leaves a shallow crack.

"Mari," I say gently. My hand reaches out and touches her face. It's cold, but more than bearable. I don't know if it's because I'm a wolf and we're made to stand extreme cold, or what, but her skin isn't as icy feeling as I thought it would be.

I make sure to block Jared's view of her naked body, not that he was interested, anyway.

She leans into my touch, and extends her arms. I immediately fall to my knees and hug her. She's very careful not to crush me, and I'm careful not to think about the droplets of blood mixed with with water that clings to her.

Jared and Esme leave us in private, and I pull away and cup her face.

"I'm sorry, Paul. I didn't want this. I didn't..." She shakes her head and I soothe her.

"It's not your fault." I shake my head. "I should've protected you more. I should've picked you up from the airport so you wouldn't have had to walk anywhere and this wouldn't have happened. I failed you."

She shook her head and looked at me with a furrowed brow.

"You didn't fail me." She argued with me. "You didn't fail me, Paul. I did this to myself. I was the one that walked away from us, not you."

"I walked away." I tell her.

"No, you didn't. I did this to myself." She finished with a sharp tone. "I should've never trusted him." She whispered so low it was barely audible. But I heard it.

"What?" I ask and she looks at me, her mouth slightly open. "Trusted who?"

"No one."

"Trusted Who?" I ask again, this time with a more stern voice. "Marisela, who?"

Her mood does a full 360, and she turns a little angry.

"No one." She stood up and grabbed the towel Esme left, wrapping it around her.

She reached for the door knob but I grabbed her and pushed her against the door, knowing it didn't hurt her at all.

"Who did you trust?" I ask her one last time, a growl emitting from my chest.

She looks up at me, a little frustrated that I'm not dropping it but I don't care.

"There was a guy," she starts. "At the airport. When I got outside he followed me and offered to get me something to eat. One minute we're in a restaurant getting food and the next I'm in an ally, pinned against a wall with teeth in my neck. So no, it's not you that got me into this. It's me." She finished. "Can I go now?"

I let her go, taking a step back and she swung the door open and stormed past Jared who was waiting.

"That was intense." He mumbled. "She's kinda hotter than she was before." He added and I looked at him and rolled my jaw. "Kidding. Damn, lighten up, man."

I follow her scent, seeing she's putting on clothes that the Cullen's got for her.

"When you get your clothes on, we're leaving." I told her and she looked at me with a raised brow.

"No."

"What?"

"I said, 'no', Paul. Your family knows nothing about vampires and I'm going to need some training. I can stay here until I'm under control." Her accent wrapped around every word perfectly and I just blink at her.

"You think you're gonna hurt us or something?"

"Your dad, Emily, basically anybody that doesn't smell like wet dog."

"I don't wanna hear you complain about how we smell. You smell like lavender bleach. It's not that fun to smell, either." I snap at her and she licks her lips.

"Humans, Paul. They're human. I've only been this for two days. I can't control my hunger yet. I don't want to put your family at risk like that."

"You won't, Mari." I tell her and she shakes her head.

"I don't trust myself." She pulls a pair of Sweatpants.

"And they can't be trusted." I say very quietly.

She gives me an odd look and rolls her jaw.

"Why did Sam instruct you to bring me to them when you guys found me, then? You don't have to trust them as Vampires. But you need to trust them to teach me basic things about control."

"I can't do that." I grind my teeth together. "They're..." I trail off, not wanting to offend her but not wanting to trust them either.

"Vampires?" She seethed.

I didn't say a thing and she threw the towel she had, on the floor.

"If you're going to disown me for something I can't help then I don't know what to tell you, Paul. Tough luck, I guess. I was patient with you when you showed me you turned into a wolf the size of a Semi Truck." She rubbed her eyes and I stepped to her, brushing her damp hair from her smooth face.

"I could never disown you, Marisela. Pout and give you the silent treatment for a couple hours, yeah. But never disown you." I know she thinks it's a figure of speech, the "I can never disown you", but it's literal.

Wolves' imprints are the equivalent to a soul mate. Except it's not as simple as "I love you but if we break up, I'll survive". A wolf maintains a dependence on who they imprint on, and visa-versa. It's woven into our DNA to protect that person, at whatever cost, until we die or they die. And if they die, we might as well kick the bucket, too.

Imprinting is such a big deal to our kind, that our most absolute law is that imprints cannot be harmed by anyone in our pack.

Everyone almost broke that law while we were chasing Marisela, not knowing it was her.

 _I smelt the rat before anyone else did, the strong scent of bleach...and blood._

 _We were on patrol when it hit us and we immediately chased after it._

 _She was fast, her long curled hair following behind her and she swiftly ran from us. We were on edge._

 _Not too long ago we had chased Victoria away; a red headed vampire that had a vengeance against the Cullen's for killing her mate in order protect Edward's human girlfriend Bella Swan. So we were on edge already._

 _This one had dark hair, and was almost as good as Victoria at running. Almost._

 _Sam and the others ended up chasing after her while I was ordered to run at an angle so I could get ahead of her and tackle her by surprise._

 _I did just that, and when my paws hit her shoulders to pin her down, I looked at her._

 _"Paul," she gasped out and I immediately jumped off of her, my ears back and my head low as a whimper escaped my throat before a growl started to take its place._

 _She was covered in thick, dried blood, and looked like hell. I stared at her as the others caught up, growling and snarling, until the top realized who she was._

Holy shit _, Jared thought._

Uh, Sam? We gotta problem _, Embry echoed him._

 _Sam's large black form stepped to us and he looked at the Vampire._

Take her to Carlisle. I'll meet you there later and we'll talk about it further. Nobody touch a hair on her head. She's Paul's imprint before she's a vampire. Remember that _, Sam ordered._

Edward's presence interrupted me and Marisela, and she moved away from me, causing me to glare at him.

He acknowledged me, barely, before turning his attention to her.

"Carlisle had to leave, briefly, but he wanted me to let you know that you are welcome to stay here as long as you need to."

Mari nodded and he went back downstairs. She looked at me and followed him and I went after her.

I was getting angry. They were trying to take her away from me and I wasn't going to let it happen.

"Thanks but no thanks. She's coming home with us." I tell him, seeing his two "sisters" and their husbands had joined us.

Upon me saying this, Sam and the others come into the house.

"She is?" Jared asked me.

"Yes, She is." I state.

"She has no control of herself, Paul. It's not safe for you or your family." Edward argued politely.

"You don't think we can't protect our family?" I hissed and cut my eyes at him.

"If she loses her composure, she'll either have to be chased away or destroyed. It's what you were created for." Edward pointed out and I looked at Sam.

"She's sure as hell not staying here. She'll be fine." I don't give up and Edward looks at Sam.

"You're risking your fiancés life," Edward tells him and Sam glances around at the pack before staring at me. "And any other human that she'll be around."

 _He's right, Paul_ , Sam says telepathically and I glare at him.

"No." I say aloud to him. "She's going back with us. She can stay with me. She won't even be around Emily."

"What about your dad?" Jared asks and I sigh.

"He'll Be fine."

"Paul." Marisela snaps.

"What?!" I yelled at her and she stayed quiet for a moment.

"Nothing." She finally spoke. "Let's go."


	3. Two: Marisela

_"I don't wanna be touched by the fear in your eyes_

 _I don't wanna be left for my demons to find_

 _When the leaves are gone and the beating's sung_

 _Brings the world bang drums"_

— _Sacrifice, Zella Day_

* * *

 _ **Marisela**_

It's painful. Venom, running through your veins. Freezing everything in its path. Making you untouchable by time, illness, and basic things that can harm a human.

It's even more painful to have your throat sting as if one thousand wasps were caught in it. Feeling a hunger so deep that not even God could take it away.

And the one thing that is the more painful than the hunger and the venom, is the damage you do in the wake of it.

Hearing my best friend cry is not something I enjoy. Especially since he isn't the type to cry. But here I was, laying in a spare bedroom of his house as he had a melt down in the woods not too far away. His father wasn't in, and he decided to get his fit over with before he got back so he didn't risk hurting him.

He smell of wolf was so strong within the house that I didn't even feel hungry; my appetite was ruined.

The pack was treating me different already. Walking on eggshells around me, acting like everything's okay when we all know it isn't right now. The truth was simply that the Quileute shapeshifters were created to destroy vampires and protect their people from them and now they're being hosts to a vampire as if nothing's wrong.

When we got back to Emily's, I wouldn't let myself be around her so Paul took me to his house.

He helped me settle in and then went outside to "grab something" but he's been gone 30 minutes and I still hear him howling painfully.

I sat up in the bed and leaned against the head board, pulling my knees to my chest.

This was killing him.

Within a few minutes, I hear him approaching the house in human form and I automatically lay down, closing my eyes.

No, vampires don't sleep. But I could be "resting" my eyes...or doing anything else to make myself seem like I wasn't paying attention to his break down outside.

He comes into the house and trudges past the door, not bothering to say anything before he slams his own door shut.

I roll my jaw, hurt, before I fling the covers back and walk to his door, raising my hand to knock, but the door flies open before I can and I'm face to face with a shirtless Paul.

"Can I help you?" He asks.

"Are you okay?" I ignore him and he scoffs.

"Yeah, I'm great."

"This is another reason I wanted to stay with them a for a little while."

"Just stop." He snapped.

"No!" I outburst and he grinds his teeth. "You don't want to talk about this then fine, we don't have to talk. We don't have to do anything. We don't even have to look at each other right now if you're just that damn repulsed by me. But you were so prepared and ready for me to come home when we were at the Cullen's, that I was convinced this wouldn't be that different than any other time. Everyone else is avoiding the subject and not speaking a word to me and you're starting to do the same."

"I'm fine." He lied to me.

"Really? Because the agonizing howling you were doing outside, says otherwise."

"Just let it go!" He yelled and I shoved him, which sent him across the room to hit the wall with a loud thud.

He growled in his chest and I put my hands over my mouth. I didn't expect to be that strong.

"I'm sorry." I say honestly and he exhales heavily, walking to his bed and plopping down.

"I didn't protect you enough." He said suddenly. "This wouldn't have happened if I didn't meet you at the airport."

"We already went over this." I sat by him and he shook his head.

"What if whoever did this, didn't stop? What if they killed you?" He asked bitterly.

"They didn't, Paul. I'm here. That's all that matters."

"Your body's here. Your heart beat isn't. Your warmth isn't."

"As if I'm not me without those things." I say it solemnly and he chuckles without humor.

"No, you're not!" He stood up to pace the room.

"Well then." I breathe out of habit, standing up before going to the door quickly.

"Mari, wait," he comes after me and I go to the guest bedroom and pull my shoes on. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Yes, you did." I stand back up and he beats me out of the door and walks out.

I get to the living room, and turn to go to the front door, and Paul's blocking my way out.

"Move." I order.

"No."

"Paul." I growl.

"Unless your name's Sam Uley, I'm not required to listen to you."

"Let. Me. Leave. Or so help me I will make you move and you'll get hurt."

"You think I'm gonna cower like a little bitch just because you're strong enough to break some of my bones now?" He cut his eyes at me.

"Let me leave."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll go to the Cullens. And I can't protect you there."

"I don't need protecting. They won't try to hurt me."

"Why do you have to be so damn stubborn, Marisela?"

"Why do you have to be so..." I trail off, a scent I don't recognize hitting my nostrils. It was that of another vampire and I push past Paul, who's too concerned with what's wrong to be bothered with trying to keep me in the house.

"Mari?" He asked me cautiously.

"I thought vampires weren't allowed on the reservation."

"They aren't." He tells me.

Within seconds, multiple howls break out and Paul looks at me.

* * *

"He's not a threat." I tell them and Jared looks at me.

We were outside of Emily's, and they were telling me about having to chase a female vampire off of their land last night, and in the midst of the Cullen's also chasing her, Emmet, Carlisle's son, crossed the territory and had an altercation with Paul which resulted in the woman getting away.

"Dude, it came on our land. Doesn't matter if it's a threat or not. They broke the treaty." Jared argues.

"Then kill me." I hiss back and they look at me. "I mean I'm one of them, too."

They don't say anything and I clench my jaw.

"Okay, Fine." I scoff. "Let's just pretend that this is natural. That wolves and vampires are supposed to get along in peace and harmony and gather around campfires singing Kumbaya! Let's pretend that everything in all of you isn't screaming for you to kill me right now, but none of you are!"

"Trust me, we've thought about it." A girl's voice pipes venomously.

"Leah!" Sam shouted impatiently.

"What?! We have! If only Paul wouldn't have imprinted..." She scowled at me.

"He What?" I look at him and he grinds his teeth together, looking at her. "You what?" I ask again but he ignores me, as he starts shaking and breathing heavy.

"Paul," Sam speaks sternly. "Calm down."

"Leah, you better run." Jared tells her in a joking tone but we all know he's serious.

I grab my best friend's arm and he immediately calms, looking at me painfully.

"Let's go." He nodded to the woods and I rub my lips together before nodding gently.

Before we leave, he stops in front of Leah.

"Just because you're in a pissy mood that Sam imprinted on Emily and left your sorry ass behind, doesn't mean you have to ruin our own experiences with it. I dare you to even think about touching a hair on her damn head. I'll kill you myself."

"She's one of them, Paul. Do you not realize how messed up this is?"

"She's Marisela. I don't care what the fuck She is. She's still above this pack, regardless. Everyone else seems to get that except you." He points a finger at her and she curls her lip angrily before he follows me into the woods. "No one else has thought about killing you. Just her." He assured me when we get far enough out we can talk in private.

"I figured." I replied.

"I was gonna tell you myself. Differently." He started.

"Tell me that she wants me dead or tell me you imprinted on me?"

He stares at me, shaking his head.

"Imprinting is being unconditionally, emotionally, cemented to someone. We can't control it, regardless of how we feel about the person. And when it happens, everything else is like second best compared to that person. The only thing that matters is that she is safe, and happy and cared for and loved." He tells me. "Sam imprinted on Emily, Leah's cousin, after he phased the first time. He hates that he hurt Leah, but he couldn't help but to be drawn to Emily. He didn't want to be dating Leah but while wanting Emily. So he broke up with her and the next thing we know, him and Emily are engaged. And Leah is beyond hurt."

"She has a right to be. She loves him. I can't imagine the pain that comes with something like that happening." I actually defend her.

"We all can. We have to hear her thoughts every single day. It gets annoying, but we do pity her." He admits and I frown.

"When did you imprint on me?"

"Before I stopped talking to you. I would've told you when I was telling you about us being wolves, but I didn't want you to feel obligated to think that we had to become something romantic because of the circumstances."

"I wouldn't have felt obligated. I don't feel obligated right now." I shake my head. "Paul, I've worshiped the ground you've walked on ever since sophomore year when we became friends. You're my best friend. I would've understood."

He looks a little disappointed and I bit my lips nervously.

"Good," he smiled despite his earlier expression. "Let's get to Emily's. She's cooking and I'm starving."

He then stops suddenly and turns to look at me.

"You haven't hunted, have you?"

"I can hold off until tomorrow." I assure him. "Besides, your stench keeps my appetite at bay and distracts me." I smile and he rolls his eyes, knowing I'm just kidding...sort of.

"Shut up." He playfully pushes me and I laugh.

When we get back to Emily's, everyone is there except for Seth, Leah's younger brother, and Jacob.

"Mari," Emily approached me. "How're you?" She hugs me and I squeeze my eyes closed, focusing on the wolf smell instead of her human scent.

"I'm good." I tell her and she smiles.

"You look like yourself. Just different eyes." She says sweetly and I blink, self-consciously, not even thinking about my bright red eyes and look at Paul.

"I like them." He whispers in my ear and I feel a little better by the compliment.

"I have chicken if you guys are hungry." Emily offers them and they immediately hit the kitchen.

I just stood by the door, my arms crossed, and I turned my head when I heard a motorcycle pull up.

"Jake's here." Jared said as he grabbed a chicken leg and Paul did the same.

"And he brought Bella." Embry added as they rushed outside.

"Aye look who's back!" Jared exclaimed and I followed them slowly to see a brunette girl approaching the guys.

Paul pulled me to him, and I kept a hold of his free arm as he ate his chicken.

"What up, Bella?" Quil asked her and she furrowed her brows.

"Quil, you too?" She asked him and he looked at the guys.

"Yep. Finally made the pack." He shrugged.

"We're glad you're here, Bella. Maybe now we can get a break from Jake's obsessive inner monologue." Embry commented and Paul laughed.

"'I wish Bella would call'." He shoved jakes arm playfully.

"'I wish Bella wouldn't call'." Jared also impersonated Jacob.

"'Maybe I should call Bella'." Embry took a jab next.

"'Maybe I should call Bella and hang up'." Quil fueled the fire of embarrassment and they looked at me, waiting for my turn as they start cackling.

"Maybe we should mind our own business." I suggest and Jacob gives a sigh of relief.

I notice Bella staring at me, her eyes focusing as if trying to figure me out.

"Alright you can shut up, now." He tells them and they stop laughing so loud.

They all notice her staring and shift their weight uncomfortably.

"That's Marisela." Jared told her with his mouth full. "She's Italian." He wiggles his brows.

"French." I correct him, extending my hand to her. "It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, me too." She shook it kindly and I pull away quicker than I would've if I were warm like her.

"Don't worry, Mari. She hangs around the walking dead. You're good." Jared tells me and I look at her.

"Thought Vampires weren't allowed to be on the land?" Bella asked them.

"Her beauty makes her an exception." Jared says obviously sarcastic, his hand reaching out to graze my cheek and I swat it away as gently as I can.

"More like Paul's unwavering decision to never let her out of his sight again." Embry says next.

Bella just chuckled awkwardly and Jacob looks at her.

"I'll explain later." He told her and she nodded.

Leah comes out of the house next, staring Bella down coldly.

"Bella, this is Leah Clearwater. Harry's daughter." Jacob introduced her.

"Hey," Bella said. "I'm really sorry about your father."

"If you're here to torture Jacob some more, feel free to leave." She spit before walking off.

I was relieved that I'm not the only one she hates.

"Fun isn't she?" Jacob rolled his eyes.

"Bella," Emily's sweet voice came from the porch as she walks to her. "Hi, I was wondering when we'd see your face around here again."

"Yeah, same here." Bella replied to her and she hugged her.

"Sam, we good?" Jacob asked Sam as he came to stand by Emily who wrapped her arms around him immediately.

"We're good." He told him. "She won't be getting through our line any time soon."

 ** _Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think!_**


	4. Three: Paul

_I got my mind made up, Man I can't let go_

 _I'm killing every second 'til it saves my soul_

 _I'll be running, I'll be running_

 _Til the love runs out_

 _'til the love runs out_

 _And we'll start a fire, and we'll shut it down_

 _Til the love runs out_

— _Love Runs Out, OneRepublic_

* * *

 _ **Paul**_

I try not to think too much about things. Usually if I just sit and think about something constantly, it makes me miserable.

So I didn't think about what our council would think about me being so close to a "pale face".

Nor did I think about what would happen if I brought said "pale face" to a council meeting to hear the history of our kind.

"I don't need to be here. I'm the only white person here." Marisela motions to her skin and I choke on my hamburger.

We're sitting down around the fire as my family leaves us to ourselves for the time being

"You just said that?" I ask while laughing and she frowns.

"You know what I mean." She mumbles and I rub her back soothingly.

"Fuck what they think. Everything is secondary compared to you, remember? It's not like they can hurt you." I point out.

"I want them to like me."

"Why?" I ask her.

"Because they're a part of your family. They're important to me." She admitted and I swallowed my food and smiled at her.

"They'll love you. And if they don't, they'll come around when they see you aren't dangerous." I pat her knee and get up to get another burger.

I glance over, seeing Jacob and Bella walking towards to fire and I look back at Mari to see her staring at it blankly.

She wasn't the only outsider, maybe Bella's presence would make her more comfortable.

I walk back over to her and sit down. By the time I put the burger to my mouth, Seth comes over and plops down by her, starting a whole-ass conversation out of nowhere. I notice he's making her laugh, a bunch, and I look at him as jealousy resides in me.

"Hey, why don't you go bother Jacob?" I suggest to him and he looks at Jacob and Bella coming this way. Without another word, he gets up and goes to them.

"Jealous much?" Mari mutters and I finish my food and brush my hands together, ignoring her comment.

"You have some nerve bringing her to this." Leah snarls out to me as she walks past us to sit by her mother and I look at Mari.

"I'm unbothered." She assures me. "You should be, too."

I sigh, wanting to give Leah a piece of my mind, but decide against it since Marisela's not upset by it.

We stay quiet, waiting for Billy, Jacob's father, to start.

"The Quileutes have been a small tribe since the beginning. But we've always had magic in our blood. We were great spirit warriors; shape shifters, that transformed into the powerful wolf." He said as everyone stayed quiet and looked at him.

Marisela looked at me, giving me a small smile and I returned it, placing my arm around her.

"This enabled us to scare off our enemies, and protect our tribe." Billy continued. "One day, our warriors came across a creature. It looked like a man, but it was hard like stone and cold as ice." Billy looked at Marisela as he said this and I sighed. "Our warriors sharp teeth finally tore it apart. But only fire could completely destroy it. They lived in fear that the cold man was not alone...and they were right. She took her vengeance out on the village. Our elder chief, Taha Aki, was the only spirit warrior left to save the tribe after his son was killed. Taha Aki's third wife could see that he would lose. The third wife was no magical being. No special powers but one, courage. She stabbed her self, knowing her blood would catch the demon's attention. The third wife's sacrifice distracted the cold woman long enough for Taha Aki to destroy her. She saved the tribe."

Mari looked almost ashamed, staring at Billy.

"Over time, our enemies have disappeared but one remains: cold ones."

Marisela looks at me, and I feel my heartbreak from how upset she looks.

"Our magic awakens when they're near. And we sense it now, feel the threat in our blood. Something terrible is coming. And we must all be ready." He looks around at all of us, his eyes lingering on me a moment longer than anyone else before he looks directly at Bella. "All of us."

Marisela stands up and goes to walk away but I follow her.

"Hey," I grab her wrist and she snatches away from me.

"I told you I should've stayed with my own kind." She snaps at me and I furrow my brows.

"Mari—"

"Don't!" She hisses, turning on her heal.

My temper gets the best of me and I grab her again, causing her to push me away from her, sending me several feet back and I growl, realizing everyone was seeing what was happening.

She steps to me, a blood thirsty look in her eye.

"I'm not gonna fight you." I tell her, taking deep breaths.

I hear a snarling behind me and I look to see Leah's transformed.

 _I will,_ she tells me telepathically.

"Leah!" Sue, her mother, shouted as stood from her seat at the fire.

"Marisela, don't." Jake threatened her and she stared at Leah.

Leah suddenly went for Marisela, and Mari bared her fangs and lunged for her.

They collided with a loud thud, Marisela kicking Leah, sending her flying backwards.

This triggers all of us to change, and rush to them to split it up.

Mari goes to Leah, but Embry tackles her and she shoves him off, untouched.

Jared's next, gently grasping her arm in his mouth to keep her still as Jacob and Quil block Leah from getting to her.

Mari hits Jared, causing him to whine a little as he snatches away from her to rub his face between his paws.

I jump on top of her, my paws holding her at her shoulders as I roar at her.

She immediately calms down, her chest heaving in heavy breaths - though she doesn't need to breathe.

The light comes back to her eyes and she looks like she's about to cry.

"Oh my god." She whispers and I whimper, licking her neck momentarily before getting off of her cautiously. She looks at Jared and Embry who were staring at her. "I'm so sorry." She shakes her head and I rub against her reassuringly. "I'm sorry." She repeats, rushing off into the woods.

* * *

"It's her hunger." Carlisle tells me as he looks at Marisela. "The more it increases, the less patient she is. She'll become lethal in order to feed." He further explains and I sigh.

"I told you." She says to me and I roll my jaw. "Should've let me stay here."

"So, now what?" I ask as I cross my arms.

"She needs to hunt." Esme cuts in and I glare at her. "She can go with us."

"I think we're pretty damn capable of chaperoning her as she chugs some deer." I shoot back and Mari sighs.

"And what happens if she catches scent of a human and decides to go after them?" Edward argues and I look at him. "She's untouchable, remember? If she harms a human—"

"Then it'll be on me and I'll take full responsibility."

"Why don't you trust us with her? We wouldn't hurt her." He hisses at me.

" _You_ can even go with us if you're worried she won't be safe." Esme offers and I look at Marisela.

"Paul," Mari pleads and I exhale before nodding.

"Alright." I agree. "But the second one of you causes her to leave my sight, it's over with."

"Of course." Carlisle agreed. "Excuse us for a moment, please." He motioned for Esme and Edward to follow him and Marisela stood up from the chair she was in and started pacing.

"I hurt them." She spoke gently.

"You barely touched them. They'll be okay." I promise her and she scoffs at me.

"I got into a fight with Leah, I hurt Jared and Embry, in front of your damn family right after one of them just explained how vampires are a threat to your kind." She laughed out and I stay where I'm at.

"Is that what you're so upset about? The history?"

"The whole tribe was slaughtered by an evil bitch with a thirst for vengeance."

"You're not like that, though, Mari."

"I almost was, tonight. What if I wouldn't have calmed down? What if I would've kept fighting until—"

I put my hand over her mouth to shut her up.

"But You didn't. So stop." I order and she pulls my hand away and grins.

"You're so controlling." She tells me, half joking, as she laughs a little.

The leeches come back and look at us.

"Ready?" Carlisle asked and Marisela nodded.

"Think you can keep up?" Mari asks me.

"Not leaving your side." I assure her and she smiles before mumbling, "good."

We follow Edward, Esme and Carlisle outside and they glance at Mari for assurance and she nods to them that she's okay.

They take off and Marisela looks at me and follows them quickly and I shift and catch up to her in no time.

She stops suddenly and I do the same, my ears perked up as I hear the same thing she's hearing.

A deer.

She looks at me darkly, before slowly walking to the other side of me, peering down the slope that the Doe was at the bottom of.

Mari stops suddenly, looking at me with almost sad eyes.

She didn't want to kill it. I knew she was hungry, but she hates killing things. She wouldn't even kill bugs. I'd have to be the one to kill beetles or anything else weird because she couldn't. She'd just get them in a cup and toss them outside.

I huff out, laying my ears back as I look at the hoofed animal.

I lunge for her before she has time to run, my teeth sink into her neck and snap the bone. She dies instantly and I proudly carry the animal up to Mari.

"You didn't have to do that." She comments as I drop the dead doe at her feet.

She eats as I walk around, making sure no one dangerous is around to harm her.

The Cullens come to us when they're also done and Edward looks at Mari as she wipes her mouth clean from the blood, Esme and Carlisle approaching her to speak to her a moment.

As much as I want to listen, I know it's not my business, so I focus my attention on Edward.

"It'd be easier on yourself to tell her, you know." He tells me and I sigh heavily.

I forgot he can read peoples thoughts.

 _I'm not trying to complicate shit more than it already is. And stay out of my damn head,_ I tell him and he looks at me.

"She loves you. I don't even have to read her mind to know that." He informs me and I growl.

 _If she wanted me she would tell me._

"She's scared. She doesn't know how you two would work out. But she loves you."

I look at him and curl my lip, before I walk to Marisela and nudge her in the back a little with my head, trying to get her to hurry up so we can leave and head back to my house.

"Are you okay?" Carlisle asked her.

"Yes, my throat doesn't feel completely engulfed in fire." She told him and he nodded.

"Good."

* * *

We get to my house and I see a note on the door from my dad.

"Staying at Billy's tonight, don't do anything stupid.

Love, Dad."

I scoff and crumple the note. He's been avoiding staying at the house ever since Marisela became a vampire.

"I need a shower." She says, looking down at the bloody clothes she has on.

We still hadn't gotten her any clothes since she left her stuff in Seattle. Not that she got dirty by not bathing like humans do, but hunting was pretty gore filled and showed on her skin, hair and clothes.

"Okay," I nod, suddenly forgetting where my own bathroom is located because I know she's gonna be in there...naked and sudsy and—

"Are you okay?" She asks and I snap out of my own thoughts. "Your heart beat is really frantic."

"Yeah, I'm fine." I fake smile and go to grab her a towel from the closet in the hallway by my room.

I hand it to her and she goes to the bathroom, shutting the door. I go to my room and grab her one of my T-shirt's and a pair of sweatpants that I know will be too big but she can just tighten the drawstring.

I walk back to the bathroom with the clothes and knock on the door, hearing the water running.

"Come in!" She calls and I open the door, my eyes looking at the floor Incase she's indecent or not in the shower.

"I'm covered up." She assures me and I look at her.

She's standing at the counter with the towel wrapped around her as she stares at herself in the mirror.

"I got you some clothes," I hold them up and she nods at me.

"Thanks." She said.

I put the clothes on the counter by her and stared at her.

She is perfection. Absolutely flawless. And not because she's now immortal. She was beyond beautiful before she was turned and now all of it is just amplified.

I remember what Edward told me. How she felt about me.

I notice she has tears in her eyes, and I walked to her.

"Mari?" I pull her hair over her shoulder to get a better look at her face and she turns her face away from me. "Hey, look at me." I grab her chin, making her look at me and she squeezes her eyes closed. "What's wrong?" I ask her.

"I hate this." She shook her head. "I hate hurting him."

"What? What are you talking about?" I ask her.

She looks at me and calms down.

"I just...I'll come back. I just need to go for a few minutes and I'll come back."

"I'll go with you," I suggest and she shakes her head again.

"Alone. I just need to be alone." She pulls the clothes I got for her on and puts her shoes on.

"Marisela," I grab her wrist gently. "Please, tell me what's wrong?"

"I can't." She tells me. "Not right now, at least."

With that, she makes her way to the front door and runs out to the woods.

I tap into the Pack's direct line and warn them.

 _Marisela just left for some time alone. Keep an eye on her, I don't want her to get hurt,_ I tell them.

 _Got it_ , Seth and Jared tell me and I sigh, rubbing my chin anxiously before slamming the front door shut, splintering the wood of it.

I sit down on the couch and lean my head back, staring at the ceiling. I needed to know what the hell was wrong with her.

* * *

"Paul!" Jared's voice hits my ears loudly and I snap awake. "It's Marisela, we gotta go!" He shouts.

I don't ask questions, I just follow him and we shift as soon as we back get outside. I hear a dog screaming in the distance and I run even faster to the sound of the noise and see Leah, Quil and Seth all lying on the ground, dead, while Sam struggles with my imprint.

Jared charges at her, and she kicks him away before grabbing Sam's jaws and ripping his mouth open, snapping the bones and eventually breaking his neck.

I stand still, staring at the scene before me, feeling beyond conflicted.

I didn't want to hurt her, I couldn't, but she was hurting my pack.

I watch as she goes for Jared's throat, crushing his bones, killing him, too. She looks at me and I take several steps back, whimpering as she walks to me, blood coating her chin and her eyes wild.

She attacks, sinking her teeth into me...

...And I snap awake.

 **Thank you so much reading! Let me know what you think so far!**


	5. Four: Marisela

**A/N: So Sorry it's taken so long to update! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and please tell me what you think about it. I hope to have the next chapter (Paul's POV) out by the end of this week. Thank you for reading!**

* * *

 _"Feels like we're dreaming, we're tripping and reeling_

 _Just say that you belong to me_

 _I could get lost in the feelings we're feeling_

 _Just say that you belong to me_

 _Do you want more of this? Isn't it glorious?_

 _I can't believe that it's free_

 _I will adore you, I'll only live for you_

 _Just say that you belong to me."_

— _Cat Pierce,_ _ **You Belong to Me**_

 _ **Marisela**_

Death seems like the most appealing option in our worst times of life.

As if pulling a trigger or pushing a chair out from underneath us will make it all better. No thought of how our afterlife will reflect that of how we got even got there.

My mother always told me purgatory would be better than hell.

I didn't know exactly what purgatory would be like...until I realized that this, being completely immortal with no soul and no moral code tying me to myself, was my purgatory.

The stench of wolf clings to me like a second skin as I make my way to the cliff's edge. Rushing, violent water crashes against the rocks below and I looked down, thinking of how convenient it would be for me to tie boulders to my shoes and jump in, although I wouldn't die from it.

How convenient it would be to let Leah tear into me like she wants so badly to do.

How convenient to die and save everyone the confusion and pain:

The explanations, the tears, the heartache, the fights, the claws, the teeth, the fight for dominance, the sound of pain screaming it's way from a wolf's throat as silver jaws lock and sharp canines puncture grey, black-spotted fur.

After all a wolf will protect his imprint, from the risk of infidelity, to the death. Well, the one wolf that imprinted on me will.

I hear faint growling behind me, and turn to see grey, black-spotted fluff staring back at me.

Embry.

I ignore him, turning back to look down at the water. I'm not going to jump, it won't do me any good. I just stand and try to ignore the painful burn in my eyes from venom that took the place of tears.

I'm nudged slightly, and warmth radiates from my neck as Embry nestles his furry, warm cheek into my neck with a whimper.

I turn to face him and cup his head between my hands, resting my forehead against his.

"I'm sorry." I whisper to him.

Another whimper and he licks at my cheek with his tongue, and I realize it's because I sound like I'm in pain.

Pain's a bitch, regardless of what form it comes in.

Someone you love dies and it feels as if you yourself have been shot. Seeing someone you love hurt feels like you're the one who was hurt. Breaking a leg is unbearable, but temporary. Having to hide the fact you're in love with someone as they constantly hang off of someone else is unimaginably painful and admitting you're hurt by it is harder than getting over it.

I can't understand what Leah's feeling. I've never had to experience such pain. But Embry...he is her parallel in this moment. Our last, secret, silent, painful moment together as whatever we are: not lovers but not just friends, possibly.

I love Paul. Embry knows I love Paul. And when Paul stopped talking to me, Embry picked up the slack because he knew I needed somebody. Anybody.

 _I exhaled heavily, peacefully, as my cheek rested on tan skin and my fingers rubbed gentle circles on Embry's shoulder._

 _His own hand traced the curve of my bare back, his lips pressed to my hair and I licked my lips and lifted my head up to look at him._

 _He smiled faintly and I leaned up, pressing my lips to his for a moment._

More memories flood my mind and I clench my jaw.

 _"We can't tell them." Embry said and I turned from where I was at his bathroom counter, brushing my teeth, and pulled the toothbrush from my mouth. He was getting clothes on and I was situated in his black t-shirt._

 _"Why?" I asked him and he shook his head gently._

 _"Sam's been acting weird lately. I don't want him to make me cut you off or something."_

 _"Why would he do that?" I go rinse the brush off and walk to him at his place on the edge of the bed. When I get to him, he pulls me to his lap and I wrap my arms around his neck, sitting sideways on his thigh._

 _"I'm not sure...but Paul's been hanging around him, so."_

 _"Well, do you think that's the reason Paul just stopped talking to me? Because of Sam?"_

 _"I don't know. I wouldn't eliminate that option, though." He shrugged. "Can't say I'm mad he stopped talking to you." A smirk pulled at his lips as he glanced me over in his shirt and nothing else and I rolled my eyes. "He'd beat my ass if he knew we were doing this."_

 _"Yeah, he would." I agree, guilt tugging at my heart and conscience but I ignore it._

I had never felt anything romantic for Embry. He was just always Paul's shy friend.

But he made sure I wasn't lonely when Paul left me to myself. And I took way too much advantage of his extended hand. It was never supposed to get physical. Never meant to get that intimate.

One thing led to another over the course of two weeks and before either of us knew it, I was corrupting him. He never once pressured me, I didn't pressure him, more so just made the first move and the rest followed quickly after. It wasn't something that had been coming ever since we met one another. No. It was sudden.

I'd gone to a party and drug him along, and in the span of 2 hours, I was on top of him in the back of his truck as he littered my neck and collar bones with kisses, his arms wrapped around my waist tightly, as he took my virtue.

After Paul imprinted on me, and told me about him being a wolf before I went to Italy to see my mother, Embry had told Jared, Quil, Jacob, Sam and Emily, trying to get advice from them about the situation.

Sam had told him to never let Paul find out. The thought of another man sleeping with me would send him on a warpath.

They can keep certain thoughts from each other, so he'd never be able to find out from one of them telepathically.

We all vowed to never let Paul find out, so Embry couldn't let it show that he was bothered by Paul's claiming of me through imprinting. Although me and Paul aren't dating, Embry knows I love him, and he knows he was the fill in...and he knows I'm pretty happy about finally having the opportunity to be with Paul.

"It's selfish. I am selfish." I tell him and he looks at me sadly. "I hate hurting you. I hate that this is killing you and you can't let it show." I continue and he whines.

I can hear him now, in my mind, "It's my fault".

But it wasn't.

My hands fell from his head and I squeezed my eyes shut.

I felt his thumbs rub circles on my cheeks and I opened my eyes to see him standing in front of me in human form, looking at me, hurting.

"I knew what the risks were. I knew you were wanting me to be him. And I tried the best I could to be that for you. I'm not angry, Marisela. I'm not. It sucks, yeah. But I'll be okay." He explains to me and I look up at him. "He won't, though. If he loses you to me, he'll kill me and be too heartbroken to even be happy with you. So just forget that month with me happened." His voice breaks and I choke out a sob. "And I'll pretend it didn't, either."

"Do you regret it?" I ask him lowly.

"Knowing what I do now about you being his imprint, yeah. But I didn't until that happened." He says honestly and I nod. "Do you regret it?"

"No." I state he breathes out unevenly.

I look past him to see dark black fur and I look directly at Sam, acknowledging him silently.

"He's making sure we don't do anything we'd be ashamed to tell them about."

"Little late for that." I say without thinking. "I gotta get back."

•

Anxiety is inevitable when you've been doing no good. And I feel it sink down on me as I walk to Paul's house. I open the door, easing in, trying not to make a sound.

Faint snoring echoes through the house and I see Paul asleep on the couch.

I go to him, taking my jacket off, and crouch down. My fingers gently run down his cheek and opens his eyes and looks at me, growing more awake.

"What Time is it?" He sits up with a groan, rubbing his tired eyes. I sit by him and glance at the clock on the wall across from us.

"One in the morning." I reply and he furrows his brows.

"Are you okay?" He brushes my dark hair from my face and I swallow the lump in the my throat.

"Yeah." I nod gently. "Are you okay?" I ask him and he smiles faintly.

"If you're okay, I'm okay." He shrugs and I look down. He reaches over me to grab his phone and I completely stop my habited breathing , nervous. He stops suddenly, tensing slightly, before looking at me with those brown eyes and I blink at him. "You reek of Embry." He says it jokingly, but the undertone seems as if he's threatened.

"You all smell the same to me." I reply smartly and he gives me a "shut up" look, trying to keep himself from smiling.

"Is my dad back?" He asks and I shake my head.

"Not that I know of."

Disappointment is apparent on his face as he tosses his phone on the coffee table in front of us and leans back, his hands raking through his black hair.

"What's wrong?" I ask him and he snorts.

"What isn't wrong?" He grumbles. "My dad's avoiding his own house."

"Because you're housing a vampire. I'd be avoiding it, too." I defend his father and he looks at me as if I'm crazy. "He doesn't trust me. And he shouldn't be required to. No one in your family should. I'm your imprint. I'm untouchable, right? They're probably waiting for me to take advantage of that and kill everyone." I add and he leans forward, popping his knuckles.

"Don't talk like that, Mari." He looks at me again, his expression soft but his tone almost cruel.

"It's the truth." I say more to myself and he shakes his head.

"Don't. I don't care. Stop talking like that. We know you're not gonna do that."

"Well—"

"Stop!" He yells, his pulse picking up quickly and his breathing erratic.

"Why do you hate thinking of me as What I am now?" I spit, and he stands up, stomping to the kitchen. "Why are you ignoring what I am capable of, Paul?" I follow him and he turns around, peering down at me.

At this point, his anger has surpassed anger and has gone into silent rage.

"I know what you're capable of, Mira. I respect the power that you now posses. I respect and understand that you aren't fragile or in need of rescuing. But I have to visualize that scene, of you tearing the tribe apart and none of us being able to do a damn thing about it, all the time because Leah is constantly paranoid about it. I don't hate you. I trust you. I don't undermine what you're capable of. I just choose not to think of you using this situation you're in to cause trouble." He shakes a little as he speaks. I touch his face with my palm, and he closes his eyes a moment before he opens them, moving closer to me.

We're merely inches away, no, centimeters, as he glances from my eyes to my lips.

Moving even closer to me, I feel his scorching heat take over my senses, and I look up at him, completely mesmerized by him.

His phone suddenly rings and I try to create some distance between us. He growls almost inaudibly, walking to the coffee table to grab it and answer it.

"Hello?" He answers and I cross my arms and lean against the kitchen counter as he stays in the living room.

I don't listen to the conversation, but I hear Paul's dad's voice.

"So, you're not coming home?" I hear Paul ask and I squeeze my eyes shut. If I weren't here, his father would be.

I stay quiet as Paul walks closer and leans against the kitchen door.

"I can't just—dad, you know why I can't do that. Regardless of what you think, I can't do that." He says next and I look at him. "K." He states. "Yeah, sure. Bye." He hangs up and tosses his phone on the counter before clenching his fists.

"Paul?" I ask, stepping to him slowly, and he shakes his head.

"He's not coming back tonight." Is all he says and I furrow my brows.

"I can leave if I—"

"No." He cuts me short. "No, you're staying. He can get over it."

"I don't want to be disrespectful, Paul. I can leave if I need to. It's his house."

"I'm not telling you again. You can stay. Just drop it." His tone shifts from irritated to blatant anger and I lick my lips and nod slowly, before pushing past him to go to the door.

"Wait, Marisela." He grabs my wrist and I unnecessarily breathe in sharply, the inferno that is his skin catching me off guard. We really were opposites. Fire and ice, as cliche as that could be. There are so many factors that contributed to the two of us being so hesitant to try to make this work. He hates what I am, but loves who I am. It was possibly the biggest struggle I'd seen within him. Every time he'd touch me, his lip would curl slightly at the cold feeling of my skin that used to be warm and alive.

I don't look nearly as pale as the Cullens, but my tan skin had lightened a couple of shades, and something about it doesn't seem very...alive.

He'd look at me with slight distaste anytime he touched me, but then it'd be gone within the blink of an eye and he'd welcome it.

Everything within in him was screaming at him to kill me, yet everything within him was screaming to protect me.

I watch him, in this moment, hold my hand between his, keeping his eyes closed a second.

"Paul?" I ask and he looks at me again. "What would you have done if I would've killed any of them?" I refer to the bonfire and he takes in a couple of breaths before choosing his words carefully.

"Our entire relationship is a tricky, fucked up, situation, Mari." He starts. "I'd like to think I would've defended my family...but I know there's a huge part of me, that, regardless of who you hurt in my family and regardless of what the hell you do, will still and always will protect you until I die. If you would've killed anyone tonight, the pack would've had their hands tied. The most important law that we have is to never harm another wolf's imprint. I would've been very, very, very, pissed at you for a very, very, very long time, but I wouldn't hurt you and I wouldn't let anyone else hurt you. You're untouchable and everyone in my family knows it."

He's hurting, torn between his imprint and his family. Between the events of tonight and the phone call shared with his father, he's more than likely questioning if any of this is truly worth it anymore. I'm dead already.

I gently move my hand that rests in his, and my fingers carefully lock around his, making sure not to break his hand—not that it would be necessarily easy to begin with—in an attempt to comfort him.

A sudden wash of grief hits me, almost a pit within my chest and I look at him, confused as to why I'm feeling this, and he looks at me, too, the same.

"How did you do that?" He asks very lowly and I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. He takes a deep breath when I pull my hand away, and the grief I feel immediately stops.

"What?" I ask him and he stares at me a moment before speaking.

"I had this weight on my chest about everything that's happened and now—"

He stops himself, studying me.

"What?"

"It's gone. It's like I'm at peace." He admits, skeptical and still confused and I shake my head slightly.

"I didn't mean to do anything." I say, calmly, and he exhales.

"I, uh, I need some sleep." He breaks the silence after a few minutes and I look at him and nod.

"Okay." I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and he frowns a little.

"I would say help yourself to anything in the pantry and fridge but you don't eat normal food anymore." He points out and a small smile creeps to my lips.

"With how much you eat, there probably isn't anything left to eat anyway." I dish back and he gives me a smirk, a genuine, smug smirk...something I hadn't seen from him since this entire ordeal of me changing. I can tell he's thinking something, but he won't say it aloud.

"Goodnight, Mari."


	6. Five: Paul

**A/N: I will be getting back to the plot of Eclipse in the next chapter. In this chapter, it mentions Jake hanging out with Bella. Though it's not in this story, To give you an idea of where we're at exactly in Eclipse, Bella punches Jacob while they're hanging out in this chapter. Thank you for your patience and support. It's genuinley appreciated and I really hope you like this chapter:)**

* * *

 **Warning: Sexual Situations**

* * *

" _Leave me out with the waste_

 _This is not what I do_

 _It's the wrong kind of place_

 _To be cheating on you_

 _It's the wrong time_

 _But she's pulling me through_

 _It's a small crime_

 _And I've got no excuse_

 _Is that alright?_

 _Give my gun away when it's loaded_

 _Is that alright?_

 _If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it_

 _Is that alright?_

 _Give my gun away when it's loaded_

 _Is that alright_

 _Is that alright with you?"_

— _Damien Rice,_ _ **9 Crimes**_

 _ **Paul**_

I sleep peacefully that night, probably the best I've ever slept.

I wake up the next morning, smelling food cooking. I step to the bathroom to brush my teeth before I put on a pair of sweatpants and walk to the kitchen, rubbing my tired eyes.

My dad's seated at the table, looking to be in a decent mood as Marisela cooks food.

"Dad?" I ask with furrowed brows and he looks at me.

"I came by to grab a few things and got caught up in a conversation." He tells me and I look at Marisela.

"Good morning." She tells me, stepping to me to kiss my cheek.

Her hair's thrown up in a bun, and she's in black PJ shorts Emily gave to her to wear and one of my t-shirts from the clothes folded on the couch. I can tell she cleaned up around the house, because everything's organized and she has candles burning.

"You've been having a conversation?" I ask him, even more confused. "What the hell about?"

Neither of them answer and I furrow my brows again, stepping to Marisela when my dad goes to his bedroom to get the things he needed.

"What the fuck, Mari?" I ask and she looks up at me, not knowing what I mean, and I lick my lips. "A few hours ago, he hated you. What happened?"

She looks at me, her mouth open slightly as she's about to speak, but she closes it.

"Why?" She asks and I raise my brows.

"Why? Because I wanna know what happened between then and now. That's why."

Again, she doesn't speak, continuing stirring pancake mix. I snatch the bowl away from her and she looks at me, aggravated. I push aside how attractive she is, especially in my shirt, and focus on the issue at hand.

She looks around to make sure he isn't around before she gets closer to me and lowers her voice.

"The thing I did last night, taking that worry and pain away from you and giving you relief, I might've done that to your father when he came in this morning." She confesses and I widen my eyes.

"You..." I trail off, trying to think about it. "What the hell?" I repeat in a whisper and she purses her lips.

My dad comes back and gives Marisela a generous smile.

"It was nice to see you again, Marisela." He tells her and she returns the kind look on his face.

"You, too." She grins and he looks at me.

"I'll be back in a couple days." He says to me and I nod.

He leaves me alone a lot, either going and staying with a friend or going to be by himself, so I'm used to his absence. I just didn't like that he was gone because he didn't like Marisela anymore.

"See ya, dad." I reply, rubbing the back of my neck.

He steps out of the house and I turn back to Marisela.

"Sausage." She offers me a plate and I exhale and cut my eyes at her.

"No, no. You're not getting out of this using food." I tell her and she shrugs.

"I'm not trying to get out of anything." She says back, going back to her stirring after I put the bowl on the counter.

"You took away whatever emotional turmoil my dad was feeling about you and this situation and in turn it made him like you again." I state and she blinks.

"Pretty much."

"Mari," I lean on the counter, and she glances at my shirtless torso before her eyes slide up to mine.

"Yes, Paul?" She asks and I let out a breath.

"That's manipulation." I say it without sounding like I'm accusing her and she looks up at me. "And he more than likely didn't even realize you were changing how he felt."

"Carlisle said I have a gift—"

"Carlisle? When did you talk to...you left last night?"

She nods and I sigh and clench my jaw.

"He said I'm a healer, Paul. I have the ability to fix any emotional or physical pain. Your father wouldn't even come home because of how much bitterness and hatred he has towards me and it was hurting him because he wanted to know you were okay. So when he came to get a few things I helped him find peace. I wasn't trying to be manipulative. I was just trying to help."

"You went to the Cullens without me. The reason I go is to protect you, Mari." I point out.

"I'm well aware of why you go. But I'm stronger than they are right now so I would've been fine if something happened. Which nothing ever will happen because they're harmless." She defends them. "And besides, I didn't go alone."

I furrow my brows at this and she licks her lips.

"Embry went with me."

"Embry?" I ask, feeling jealously rattle me.

"I was in the woods and he was on patrol last night and we came across each other."

That doesn't help anything and I take another steady breath.

"Don't tell me you're threatened by Embry Call, Paul."

"You should've woke me up if you had an urge to go on a middle of the fucking night adventure." My words are sharpened slightly, my voice raised a little and she stops cooking, turning the stove off because she knows if she continues to cook while arguing, she'll lose track of everything and burn the house down.

"Paul," She says it weakly, looking at me with those red eyes that I still find myself loving as much as I did her brown ones. She gets closer to me, her cold hands uncrossing my arms and I can't help but to wrap my arms around her waist. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about. If I wanted anyone else I wouldn't be here. Okay?"

I nod and she smiles, sweetly.

"Good." She says gently.

I look at her, looking not exactly how she did when I imprinted on her, but still beautiful and I find myself leaning down, my eyes on her lips. She catches on, and pulls away slightly.

"I don't think that's a good idea." She tells me in a whisper. "I have very little self control right now, Paul." She explains, concerning her hunger and I give a crooked, smug smirk.

"I do, too." I reply in a low whisper and she blinks slowly, her lips parting to say something else but I take the opportunity to stop her.

Kissing her wasn't like I thought it would be. It's not as cold like I imagined. It's very, very, tolerable, almost refreshing being that I'm always very warm. It's like jumping in to a pool after running a marathon in a blazing heat.

She lets out a small, breathy moan, and I move my hands to the backs of her thighs and pick her up, sitting her on the counter.

Her legs wrap around me, giving the same cooling effect as her mouth and I feel carnal energy spread through me. My tongue traces her bottom lip and she immediately opens her mouth, welcoming it with her own tongue.

It isn't until I reach for the hem of my shirt on her that she gently pushes me back a couple inches.

"I'm sorry." I apologize, not wanting to make her feel pressured to do anything she isn't comfortable doing and she shakes her head.

"No, Paul, I want to it's just..." she bites her lip, her nerves getting the better of her. "I don't want to hurt you."

The way she says it, so innocent and truly pure. I feel guilt slowly seep in and I huff out a breath.

"I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I hurt you." She says next.

"You won't hurt me," I shake my head. "I can take a lot more than any normal human. Wolves are more resilient."

"I don't want to risk it, Paul." She argues and I sigh a little but nod.

•

Later that afternoon, me and Mari head to Emily's for lunch. I take her by the Cullen's to let her get a change of clothes from one of the daughters that already had her entire wardrobe planned and ready to go. When Marisela steps out of the house, I feel the "no sex" rule go to hell.

She's in black jeans that hug her tightly, along with a matching black, long sleeved v-neck shirt that also fits like a second skin and shows a little of her cleavage and black thigh-high suede boots with red bottoms. The silver cross she's always worn that her mother had given to her, is hanging from her neck, sticking out against the black shirt.

Her usually curly hair is flat, reaching a little past her navel and she walks past me.

"Don't say anything." She states, not that I could, really. It was hard to talk to her when I'm in my wolf form.

We don't say anything until we reach the tree line of Emily's house and she grabs the shorts I got before leaving the house.

I shift and she keeps her back turned, waiting for me to cover myself.

I chuckle again at her innocence and gently pat her on the butt before walking past her once my shorts are on.

She quickly catches up to my stride, and grabs my hand carefully in hers.

When we get in to Emily's, everyone else is waiting for us.

"Thank god you're finally here. Emily wouldn't let us eat without you." Jared thanks us when we come in and Mari holds back a smile.

"Hey, Mari," Emily greets her and Marisela gives her a smile in return. I notice her grip on my hand tightens when Sam looks at us.

"Where's Leah?" Mari asks and Jared scoffs.

"She decided to sit at home and pout about last night." He says and Marisela furrows her brows.

"I'm really sorry about last night." She says suddenly and we all look at her. "Just, hearing the history and being one of the same things that almost destroyed an entire tribe...I know what I'm capable of." She continues. "And it terrifies me to even think about hurting anyone especially any of you. You've always been a second family to me and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ever did irreparable damage to any of you."

"We're tough as nails. It's gonna take more than a little leechy temper tantrum to mess any of us up." Jared says throwing his arm around her and she looks at him with a raised brow. "You look good today." He tells her playfully in her ear and she gives a smile.

"I've been told." She replies and shove him off of her, not entirely serious but serious enough and he cuts his eyes at me.

I just put my arm around Mari and pull her as close to me as possible.

It isn't until everyone gets food that I abandon my imprint and follow. Marisela goes to sit next to me, but I grab her and pull her in to my lap. She scoffs and looks at me. I just wink and keep my left arm wrapped around her as I eat with my right hand.

Everyone's looking at us, not used to this much lovey stuff between us and Jared blatantly asks:

"So are you to sleeping together now or...?"

I choke on my water and Marisela looks at him with wide eyes. Emily hits Jared's arm, scoldingly while Sam, Quil, and Seth hold back smiles. Embry isn't amused at all.

"No." I tell him. "And if we were, you wouldn't know about it."

"I was just wondering. You two are all over each other. I thought you had a sex-high or something."

Mari just stares at him.

"How would that even work?" He asks next and she says something in French, probably cursing at him, before I drop my fork on to my plate. "I mean would she break you, would you break her, would you break each other? She's really cold so would that feel like a you're doing frosty the snowman?"

"Why are you still talking?" Quil says next and I'm still stuck on the 'frosty the snowman' comment.

"And he's really warm so that has to feel like lighting a match up in there and—"

"Why are you like this?" Mari asks him and he shrugs.

"I just want to know." He says and she shakes.

"Ha, yeah, I dare you to have the same interest in Sam and Emily's sex life." I say and Emily looks at Jared as he slowly looks at her.

"I highly suggest you don't." She warns.

Marisela's laughing and it causes me to crack up, too.

"Where's Jake?" Mari asks after we calm down.

"Hanging out with Bella." Quil says and I furrow my brows.

"That's sad." She mumbles.

"He's not good with just giving up." I state and everyone looks at me. "I mean, he's not. She's told how many times now she's not leaving that..."

I have to stop myself from saying "bloodsucker" but Mari knows what I was going to say.

"...He's just stubborn." She ignores it.

"He's gonna end up having his parade pissed on if he doesn't give up already." Jared says. "And we've already had two of us have their dreams ripped a part because someone didn't love them back."

The words tumble from his mouth and I don't think much of it...until I realize Leah's the only one who's had to adjust to losing anyone to someone else.

"Enough." Sam says harshly and Jared shakes his head a little and goes back to eating.

"Wait, who's the second one?" I ask and Marisela tenses up a little.

Jared looks at me and her and then back at his food.

"I miscounted. My bad." He mumbles and Mari and Embry glance at each other, a little longer than I would've preferred, before my girlfriend clears her throat and I finish eating.

"We're about to go to the beach." I say and Marisela gets off of me.

 _Be careful_ , Sam tells me telepathically. _We saw her again_.

 _Okay_ , I reply and the other's look at me.

I grab Mari's hand in mine and we leave the house.

•

Me and Marisela race to the beach after we go by my house so she can get her swimsuit she left there since the last time we went.

We get out of my beat up truck, start running and the two of us both jump off the cliff me and the guys go cliff diving off of.

We hit the water, plummeting through it, and rushing to get back up. I take a deep breath when my head breaks the surface of the water and I look around for Marisela.

I get several breaths in before I'm suddenly snatched under the water, and I open my eyes to see Marisela centimeters away from me.

She smiles before getting closer and she presses her lips to mine.

We both come up after a few seconds and she smooths her curly hair from her face.

I wipe the water off my face when we reach where we can touch and she laughs.

"What?" I ask.

"I won." She says it smugly and I shake my head.

"You cheated." I argue.

"I can't help my abilities!" She points out, walking to the sand and I follow.

I glance at her and she looks at me, knowing what's going through my mind.

She's about to run but I catch her waist with my arm and we spin a little as her back collides with my abdomen. She squeals, laughing loudly, when I start tickling her.

She crouches down, doubling over and I do the same.

We haven't had fun like this in what seems like forever. Before I turned in to a wolf we'd always have fun like this.

"What is it?" She asks me and I snap out of my thoughts and look at her.

"We're kinda back to how things were." I explain and she looks at me and smiles a little before she sits by me and stares at the water.

"I have a question." She starts and I furrow my brows. "What did you think when you imprinted on me?"

The question knocks the air out of me with the weight behind it. I remember every second of it happening.

She was staying with Emily after her American family kicked her out, and I was having trouble adjusting to the transformation. The truth was, I'd imprinted on her the previous night. She was at a party when she called to come pick her up. I got there and it all changed. The second I saw her since my change. The next night everything was different.

 _"So," I hear Emily say as I approach the house. "I had no idea that you were French and Italian."_

 _"French, Italian, Greek And Spaniard." She starts. "My mother's Italian and Spaniard, and my father was Greek and French."_

 _"Oh, wow." Emily replies. "I'm just...Quilute."_

 _Marisela laughs._

 _"I wouldn't mind being Quilute." She says._

 _"Please Princess wouldn't last a day in our shoes." I say blatantly as I walk in._

 _Marisela is sitting on the kitchen counter, her hair wet from showering. She's in a white T-shirt and denim shorts._

 _She looks at me and her smile falters, something flashing in her eyes before she abruptly looks away._

 _I step to the kitchen, opening the fridge to grab a water. I see several beers in the back of the fridge and I look to see Emily had her back turned. I grab a beer instead and mumble about "being right back" before the others show up. Marisela watches me with slightly cut eyes as I step upstairs to the guest bedroom._

 _I open the beer, taking a sip of it before I sit on the edge of the bed in a darkened bedroom, the only light coming from the setting sun outside._

 _I smell Marisela's scent lingering throughout the room, since she's been staying here._

 _Within a couple of minutes, Mari's coming up the stairs and in to her room._

 _"What're you doing?" She asks me and I ignore her, taking another swig of beer. "Thought you quit drinking." She says next, walking to me._

 _I'm tempted to reach my hand out and touch her, run my hand up her smooth, warm skin and pull her down to the bed with me._

 _I just shrug a little and swallow the alcohol, watching as she takes a seat next to me. She grabs the glass bottle from my hand and takes a sip, handing it back to me._

 _"Are you okay?" She asks me and I lick my lips and look at her._

 _"Why do you ask?"_

 _"You're just kinda distant lately." She explains. "Ever since that field party at Trevor's, you've been weird."_

 _Trevor. The typical rich kid at school that throws party's and always has the most booze and drugs. The last party I went to at Trevor's was the same night I first turned._

 _I just shake my head and take another drink._

 _"I'm fine, Mari."_

 _"You're not." She states. "I know you, Paul. You're not fine."_

 _"What do you want me to say? Huh? Maybe I'm just not happy with myself, Marisela. Maybe I'm distant because I need to be."_

 _"What the hell are you talking about?"_

 _"Sam and Emily have been together for, what, four months now?"_

 _"Yes, and?"_

 _"You've been living with her for six months."_

 _"Again, what's your point?"_

 _"How many times have I had to sneak you in, stumbling drunk? How many times have I had to clean puke off of you and tuck you in to bed?"_

 _"Are you just pointing out what I've done wrong or...?" She cocks her head._

 _"I'm just saying you're not the best example and maybe I'm deciding to distance myself to try to better myself."_

 _"While you steal your families alcohol?" She motions to the beer and I exhale, rolling my jaw._

 _"Where's this coming from, Paul? I thought we were okay."_

 _"Do you even know what the fuck we are?" I finally ask and she furrows her brows._

 _"What?"_

 _"Yeah. Exactly." I laugh without humor and she turns on the bed to face me._

 _"Is this about what happened last night?" She asks and I clench my jaw. "It was a pointless kiss, Paul. I was drunk and you were taking care of me. I didn't mean to overstep a boundary or anything—"_

No. The problem is, you didn't _, I think to myself and she looks like she's about to cry._

 _"We have argued so much in the past few weeks than we ever have. I just want to know what's going on."_

 _"Nothing." I finish the beer._

 _"Then why the hell are you acting like this?!"_

 _I throw the bottle at the wall, and it shatters. She doesn't flinch, staring at the floor._

 _"I can't tell you." I bite out, angry and she stares at me._

 _"Then how am I supposed to fix whatever it is?"_

 _"You can't." I scoff out. "Just...let me figure it out and we'll come back to each other."_

 _She just glares at me, her nostrils flaring slightly._

 _"Fine. I'm used to you being selfish at this point in our friendship, Paul." She hisses before getting up to leave._

Pushing her away isn't going to help anything _, I hear Sam in my mind and I roll my eyes._

 _It's what's best for her, Sam._

 _She's hurting, you're hurting. Just tell her the truth_

Stay out of it, _I bite back and I don't hear anything else from him._

I look at her and give her a tiny smile.

"You know that night you kissed me when you were drunk?" I ask and she nods. "It was that night. Right when I saw you it just happened. And you were a hot-ass mess. Stumbling, slurring, trying to take your clothes off, the whole nine yards."

"Oh, my god." She squeezes her eyes closed.

"And I knew something happened because I never felt like that for you. I mean, I thought you were hot, and I had a little crush on you but never anything major. But that night, when I saw you, I just, I really felt like I was in love with you. I just wanted to be near you, and protect you, and just be anything and everything you needed. And when you kissed me...I knew it was a messy situation and I knew it was gonna get complicated so that's when I started pushing you away." I finish and she licks her lips.

"Is that when you and Nicki...?"

I breath out and nod.

"Yeah, Nicki was my distraction."

It'd been a while since I talked about Nicki Renage. She was a year younger than me and she acted as Marisela's fill in while I was avoiding her. Sure, I wouldn't let myself sleep with anyone else or even be romantic towards anyone else aside from Marisela, but I found out if I got drunk enough I could fuck whoever and not feel guilty until the alcohol wore off.

 _"Oh, fuck!" Nicki moans out in a high pitch before her legs give out and she arches her back from where she is on top of me. I feel myself come apart underneath her in a drunken daze, and she collapses beside me, taking heavy breaths. "That was good." She says hoarsely. We're both covered in sweat and smell of Tequila and bad decisions._

 _I pretend she's not here, my mind focusing on Marisela and when Nicki reaches out and wraps an arm around me to cuddle, I take the condom off, get out of bed and throw it away._

 _"I'm gonna go." I say lowly and she sits up._

 _"What? Why?"_

 _"I need to get home. My dad's gonna kill me, Nicki." I lie and she just sighs a little._

 _"Okay."_

 _I sneak out of her window and get in my truck, starting it, which is a bad idea because I'm wasted but I don't care at this point. I start driving home, the events of tonight playing on my mind. Me going over to Nicki's and getting drunk, just to sleep with her and pretend she's Marisela the entire time, keeping my eyes closed._

 _I feel tears prick my tired eyes and I shake my head, refusing to cry, until the first tear topples over my lash line, then I start crying uncontrollably. Then it starts pouring rain. I decide enough's enough, and I slam on breaks, skidding across the road. The second I stop, I jump out of the truck and run to the tree line several feet away, transforming. I stumble as I pick up speed, and when I almost get to Emily's I trip and roll a couple of times. I realize I'm too drunk to make anything right at the moment, and I just lay on the ground and whimper and whine, sulking._

"I hated myself more and more every time I slept with her. But I just needed something to distract myself with." I explain.

"Paul," her voice brings me from my mind and I look at her. "There's something I need to tell you." She says.

"What is it?"

•

I don't say a word as we get back to Emily's house. Mari walks in to the house and I sit in the truck, trying to take deep breaths to calm down.

I knew her and Embry had sex. I've known it from the start. He's not the best at keeping his thoughts to himself. I knew I had no right to be mad, because he was her distraction like Nicki had been mine. He was her way of coping.

I'm just waiting for either of them to tell me. I thought she was going to tell me at the beach, but she just said "never mind".

I take a very deep breath, and get out of my truck.

When I get in the house, Marisela's on the phone with someone, and all the guys are sitting at the table, playing UNO.

"Nonna?" She says, looking at me when I come in. Emily and Sam are in the living room, looking at her, and I hear a woman's voice on the other end of the phone, speaking in a different language. Marisela starts speaking Italian and it makes me wish I would've payed attention in foreign language class because whatever they're talking about sounds important. "No" is the only thing I pick up. They continue speaking for about ten minutes. "Ti amo." She says before hanging up.

She looks at me, and exhales.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asks, walking to us, and the boys look at us.

"My mom's dead." She says causally, turning to the freezer to grab frozen deer meat and Emily looks at me, very confused.

"A-Are you...okay?" She asks, worried.

"Yeah." Mari shrugs and Sam joins us, looking at her.

She grabs a red plastic cup and takes the paper wrapping off the meat.

"Mari." He says and she looks at the three of us.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?" He repeats Emily's words in a stern but gentle voice and she scoffs, squeezing the meat so hard that blood drips in to the cup. She gets every last drop of it before wrapping the meat back up and putting it back in the freezer. She pours the blood in to a glass mug and puts it in the microwave before looking at us as we stare intensely at her.

"Yes." She says back to him. "I'm fine."

She takes the cup out of the microwave and starts chugging the blood in it. I can't help but try to keep from throwing up at the smell, and everyone else is showing their obvious distaste for it.

She looks at us when she's done and starts chuckling.

"Would you rather me tear in to Emily?" She motions to Sam's fiancée and Sam growls lowly and slowly moves Emily behind him. "I wouldn't do that." She tells him and washes the cup out. "I'm not crazy."

Jared raises his brows.

 _She says as she's about to have a mental breakdown_ , I hear him in my mind and I glare at him.

 _Dude, her mom just died. I'd be having one, too_ , Quil says next.

"I'll cook dinner tonight." Mari's tone completely shifts to happy and I furrow my brows and look at Sam.

 _It's like watching that episode of friends where Ross keeps saying he's fine while chugging margaritas and making fajitas_ , Jared thinks next and I shoot daggers at him.

 _Except she's like, chugging expired blood and making burgers_ , Embry gets in the conversation.

 _Someone better get Leah down here. She's gonna love basking in the ambiance that is Marisela's pain_ , Jared scoffs at his own words and I roll my eyes.

 _Don't worry she's probably on her way right now_ , I reply.

Marisela starts taking the hamburger meat that from the fridge that Emily put in their earlier today and to let it thaw out some.

She washes her hands after she grabs a big bowl and starts taking the meat out

Of the tray.

"Marisela?" I ask and she looks at me.

"Hmm?"

"I can help you." I offer and she shakes her head.

"I can do it myself. I'm fine." She says and I exhale.

"Okay." I reply, not wanting to cause her to get angry.

 _If she starts making margaritas I'm gonna to lose it,_ Jared states and I turn and stare at him.

She grabs a pan and puts it on the stove before she turns the burner on and starts making the hamburger meat into patties after she puts an egg in the bowl with the meat and mixes it in with her hands.

It's this time that Leah comes in and we all look at her, waiting for her to say something, anything, rude to Marisela.

Instead, she ignores us and goes to the living room, not saying a word.

 _I'm not a total monster_ , she tells us. _I'm not going to torment her after her mother just died._

 _Of course not, Leah. They know that,_ Sam replies sternly.

I can tell Mari is not fine, we all can, but I just go along with what she says and I don't bother her as she cooks.

Eventually the burgers are done and she makes each of us a plate, leaving them on the counter.

"Thanks, M." Jared says politely, grabbing his plate and he gives her a very quick kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, you're welcome." She responds as everyone else thanks her as well. She's about to go to the bathroom upstairs when Leah surprises all of us.

"Thank you." The stubborn she-wolf actually shows a shred of kindness to the pale face and Mari stops in her tracks and looks at her.

"You're welcome." Mari says, before going upstairs. I look at my plate, actually feeling a loss of appetite as I think of my hurting girlfriend and I head upstairs.

She's in her old room, laying in bed and I clear my throat and crawl in beside her.

"I know you're not fine." I mumble and she keeps her eyes closed. "I also know you can't sleep."

"I'm not sleeping. I'm resting my eyes." She argues calmly.

"Mari," I brush her cheek with my knuckles and she opens her red eyes and looks at me. "Please talk to me about this."

"I have no one, Paul." She says weakly. "My father's dead, his parents are dead, my mother's dead and her father is dead, my one living grandmother's own health is going down hill...I am the last of my family after she passes."

"Listen to me," I pull her closer to me. "You are not alone. At all. I'm so, so, sorry about your family, Mari. But we've been like a second family to you and nothing's changing that. You're not alone. Okay?"

"Okay." She nods.

After a second, she sits up.

"We both need a shower." She points out and I groan.

"Don't remind me. I just want to eat and sleep." I grumble.

I close my eyes and feel her lips press to my jaw slowly, then trail to my lips.

I hum, my hands pulling her on top of me. She lets out a faint moan, and threads her fingers through my hair, our lips melted together. She pulls away, resting her forehead on mine.

"I really need to shower." She says again and I nod a little.

"I'll go by my house and get you some clothes." I suggest and she shakes her head.

"I still have some here." She nods to the dresser.

"Okay." I reply, and she gets off of me. "I'm gonna go eat."

"Okay." She steps to the dresser to get a pair of cotton shorts and a t-shirt that I realize belonged to me once before I let her wear it after she threw up on her own shirt back when she partied.

I feel proud that she still has it, and I smile to myself before leaving her to herself for a few minutes.

I get back downstairs and Emily looks at me.

"How's She?" She asks me and I shrug.

"She's Fine."

It's not their business, what she disclosed to me, and I wanted to keep it that way until she decides to open up to them about it.

I grab my plate, sitting between Seth and Jared, and I'm done within 10 minutes, and go to sit on the couch. I lay down for a few minutes.

I eventually get back upstairs after a few minutes and knock on the bathroom door. She cracks it, sticking her head out.

"Are you okay?" I ask and she raises a brow and nods a little.

"Yes," She assures. "I am."

"I'm just checking." I shrug and she nods. "Okay, well—"

I'm interrupted, her hand grabbing my arm before I can turn around to go back downstairs.

A hunger in her eyes that was there this morning is obvious again, and I lick my lips as she gently pulls me in to the bathroom. I shut and lock the door, before turning back to look at her. She's wrapped in a towel, her hair wet and curled up from her shower. Steam from the hot water is clinging in the air, making everything hot and foggy. I already know what's on her mind as she takes a step back to the counter, hoisting herself on to it.

My inner animal is chomping at the bit as I try to contain myself from just claiming every bit of her, afraid she isn't ready for us to reach that yet. Then Embry comes to mind. She let him do whatever he wanted with her. He's been in her. Claimed her. A growl rumbles through the thick air between us and she parts her legs enough where I can easily rest between them. I don't hesitate to move forward to capture her lips with my own, my arm wrapping around her. She arches her back, her legs locking around my waist. My tongue meets hers and we're back to where we were earlier this morning.

Fuck "This is a bad idea". It's pretty obvious I want her and she wants me. It's also obvious she might be distracting herself from her pain. But I'll be her damn coping mechanism any damn day if the week.

She reaches for my shirt and pulls it over my head and I throw it on the floor, going back to her lips as soon as I can. Her hands run down my chest and my abdomen and land on my shorts.

Although her hands are cool to the touch, they leave a fire in their wake.

I pull away this time, taking heavy breaths.

"What's wrong?" She asks me and I shake my head.

"I don't want to do this if—"

I stop talking when she lets her towel fall, exposing her naked body. I almost fall to my knees to fucking worship her.

"I want to do this." She says lowly.

I completely damn any consequences, and attack her neck, rolling my tongue over her flesh.

She tilts her head back and moans, her hands reaching for my pants button.

I take my shorts off, grabbing her hips and pulling her to the edge of the counter.

I'm left in my underwear, her breasts pressed to my chest, and I trail my lips from her throat to her collar bone, down to one of her nipples.

Her back arches again when my mouth traps around it, and she grips my hair.

"Paul," she whines out and I revel in my name slipping through her lips.

I trail my lips down her abdomen, and she spreads her legs when my lips get to her pubic bone. I'm a complete tease, not giving her what she wants and she whimpers when I stand up straight again.

She's a mess staring at me as I slowly take my boxers off.

When I get closer to her again, she's putty in my hands, reacting to every touch.

"Paul," her voice says it so damn seductively that I almost fall to my knees. "Please," she begs, her lips kissing my upper jaw, right below my ear. "Claim me." She begs. "I'm yours, just claim me, Please."

It's this moment that I realize, this isn't going to be gentle or sweet. There were plenty of other times for that. Embry had given her that before, and now she wanted a taste of something different. My sweet Marisela was now treading in very deep waters.

Maybe we actually will break each other like Jared had suggested.

 _She's just using you to keep herself distracted_ , Leah's suddenly in my mind, and I stop myself from kissing Marisela.

 _Fuck off, Leah_ , I snap back.

"What's wrong?" Marisela asks me and I lick my lips and look at her.

She looks at me, her teeth baring at me, and before I can blink she's sinking them in to my neck.

A bark rips through the air from my chest, and I hear a shriek from Marisela that's quickly replaced by a viscous hiss. My eyes snap open and I realize I'm in Emily's living room, in my wolf form. Marisela's on the floor, pinned down by me, and a deep gash from where I clawed her, is healing up on her face.

I immediately shift back to human form, taking very deep breaths, getting off of her as soon as I can.

"Well," Jared speaks, breaking the aggressive tension in the air. "You _almost_ broke each other." He says and we both look at him.

"What the hell, Paul?!" Embry snaps, walking to Marisela to help her up.

"I'm sorry!" I raise my voice at him, looking at Mari. "I'm sorry." I repeat a lot more calm towards her.

"Go put clothes on and we'll talk about this." Sam orders.

They all avoid looking at my naked body as I make my way up the stairs to grab a pair of shorts from Sam's drawer.

"I can already tell you what happened." I hear Jared say. "He sure as hell knows you fucked Marisela." I'm assuming he's speaking to Embry and I keep my thoughts to myself, knowing they all heard what I was thinking as I slept.

I get back downstairs, staring at Embry and Marisela.

"Paul," she starts but I cut her short.

"I don't need an explanation. I just want to know when either of you planned on telling me?"

The two of them glance at each other.

"Or when any of you were gonna tell me for that matter." I say next, looking at Emily, Sam, Quil, Jared, and Leah.

"I didn't know about it." Leah defends herself. "Although now that I do, I'm not surprised.

"Oh, bite me, _Raksha_." Marisela seethes and Leah steps to her but Sam stops her with his arm.

"Gladly, Queen of the Sleepless." She spits back.

"Stop!" Emily says next, looking at the two girls. "Why can't you two just get along for five minutes?"

"I've decided if anyone in this pack is too nice to her she takes it as an excuse to sleep with them." Leah's relentless in Marisela's demise.

"You're just mad because a 'manipulative parasite' was still imprinted on and all you are is the sad, pathetic ex-girlfriend who's boyfriend ditched her for her cousin."

"I assure you, the last thing I'll ever do is envy a conniving—"

"Shut up!" Jared yells, acting as if he's trying to concentrate. We all smell it at once, even Mari and she furrows her brows.

As if on cue, everyone, including Marisela, turn their attention to the tree line outside of the opened door of Emily's house.

We all look and see the red headed "cold one" staring at us from several feet away in the woods.


	7. Six: Marisela

**A/N: Picking back up on the plot of the movie. I hope you guys like it. Please let me know what you think so far. Reviews motivate me! Enjoy:)**

* * *

 ** _Warning: Sexual Situations_**

* * *

 _"Oh the river, oh the river, it's running free_

 _And I'll join in the joy it brings to me_

 _But I know it'll have to drown me_

 _Before it can breathe easy_

 _And I've seen it in the flights of birds_

 _I've seen it in you_

 _In the entrails of the animals_

 _The blood's running through_

 _But in order to get to the heart_

 _I think sometimes you have to cut through_

 _But you can_

 _We can_

 _Just keep following the heartlines on your hand_

 _Just keep following the heartlines on your hand_

 _Keep it up, I know you can_

 _Just keep following the heartlines on your hand_

 _Cause I am"_

— _Florence + The Machine_ , _**Heartlines**_

* * *

 _ **Marisela**_

I weave my way through the pack, seeing the curly haired red-head ahead of us.

My mind drifts back to when the pack was chasing me, thinking I was an intruder.

 _I'm almost to Emily's, dried blood thickly covering me. I made it out of Seattle without killing anyone, but managed to run in to some fishermen along La Push. They didn't stand a chance, unfortunately._

 _I'm in a daze, shock, confusion, but I remember Paul telling me the Quilute wolves' purpose was to protect the land from cold-ones..._

 _A part of me prays they see me, catch me, and just kill me. I wouldn't mind dying._

 _I'm borderline suicidal as I boldly walk through the woods of the reservation._

 _I eventually hear a low growl, and I snap my attention to see a white and light grey colored wolf._

 _I want to stay still and let whoever it is finish me off, but instinct of pure survival kicks in when it charges and I turn on my feet and start running as fast as I can._

 _The others join the single one in no time and I find myself jumping from tree to tree, until I get several steps ahead and get back on the ground. I look back to now see a Solid black wolf in the lead and I growl to myself, pushing myself harder to run faster. Suddenly, I'm hit out of nowhere by a wolf I recognize all too well: Paul._

 _His paws hit my shoulders and the moment my back hits the ground, I gasp out his name._

 _He scrambles to get off of me, his head low to the ground as he whines, his tail almost between his legs...then he starts growling, curling his lips up at me and baring his teeth._

 _The other wolves join, confused as to why he didn't kill me, and then the realization hits them._

We're on the edge of the ravine, and the vampire they call Victoria, jumps to the other side. I see the Cullen's appear and I hope to god they stay on their side of the territory this time being that Paul and Emmett almost killed each other last time this happened.

Sam's right beside me, and Paul speeds up to get on the other side of me as we watch her jump from limb to limb before she jumps to our side again.

I run as fast as I can, going past Sam and Paul, and Sam barks at me. I turn back to look at him and he gives a single nod of encouragement. I go faster, catching up to the woman. I reach my hand out to grab her, and she looks at me before snarling...but the something in her face shifts, and I realize I've seen this woman before, too.

"I suggest you run faster." I hiss, as she's outrunning me by only a few feet.

She speeds up as we're approaching the cliff me and Paul jumped off of at the beach earlier today, and I catch her the second she jumps off, pulling me down with her.

The wolves bark, growl and howl in frustration that she got away but also worried about me. The second me and the woman hit the water, she's gone.

I come back up, to the surface and curse loudly, being that I need another shower and more clothes.

I climb back up the cliff and they're waiting for me.

We get back to Emily's eventually and Jake's waiting for us, with Leah and Emily and when he sees me and scoffs.

"You've looked better." He says flatly and I roll my eyes.

"So have you. Why so glum? Bella tell you she's not interested, again?"

"She actually punched him in the face." Jared says when he gets in, buttoning his shorts and Jacob glares at him.

"What the hell did you do?" I ask Jacob and he just looks at me.

"I kissed her."

"Dude, you don't just do that." Jared states next. "You gotta be patient. Let it happen naturally."

"And how would you know how to 'let it happen naturally', Casanova?" Emily's voice carries from the living room and we look at Jared with raised brows.

"Just because I don't bring them home, doesn't mean I don't get lovin'." He explains to us.

"Ah, I see." I nod as I talk. "And who, pray tell, is naive enough to give you 'loving'?"

"Contrary to popular belief, Mari," he puts his arm around my shoulder. "If you say just the right things at the just the right time, girls do, in fact, drop their panties for the absolute most bullshit you tell them. Paul knows the system. He can tell you how it works."

I look at Paul with a raised brow.

"It's a science." Jared says to us.

"And what exact bullshit are you telling these poor girls?"

"My favorite is the ole reliable 'I love you'." Jared says with a sigh. "But 'I really like you' also has its good days."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: you're a pig." I tell him, pushing him off of me.

"At least I'm not a leech." He fires back. I can tell he doesn't mean it in a mean way like Leah does, and I laugh.

"I'd rather be a leech than a mongrel."

"You obviously have a thing for mongrels because that's all you go for." He says next and Paul growls from where he's sitting at the table.

"Chill out, Paul. It was a joke." He explains.

"I'm not in a joking mood." Paul snaps back. "Mari, it's late. We need to go." He says next and I look at him.

"Paul, Sam put me and you on patrol tonight." Quil cuts in and my boyfriend sighs.

"She's more than welcome to stay here." Emily tells me. "If you don't want her alone."

"Yeah, thanks, Em." He thanks her.

"I'm gonna go shower, again." I state, going back upstairs to shower for the second time today. When I get out, Paul's waiting in my old bedroom, sitting on the bed.

I'm just wrapped in my towel, drying my hair with a smaller one, and he looks at the floor while I dig through the drawers for clean clothes. I find a pair of black panties and my pair of black and white Nike shorts. I'm still looking for a shirt when warm fabric hits my feet. I look down to see the Grey T-shirt he just had on.

"There." He says and I look at him. "I'm not gonna need it in a few minutes."

"Okay." I don't try to argue, I just pull it over my head after I drop the towel and put my panties and shorts on. I turn to see he wasn't even looking, staring at his hands.

"I owe you an apology." He breaks the silence that's been between us. "I'm sorry for being an ass to you. For sleeping with Nicki and not being honest when I imprinted on you and for pushing you away. I'm also sorry for hurting you earlier tonight...and also not trusting you."

"What?" I ask him, confused, walking to the bed. He pulls me in to his lap and I sit on his left leg, my fingers playing with the strands of his hair close to his neck.

"Tonight was the second dream I've had where you try to hurt someone in the pack, if not the entire pack."

I can't speak, rubbing my lips together. I just look at him.

"You know I would never do that." I try to say calmly, but it comes out sounding weak and desperate.

"I know you wouldn't." He states quickly. "But, Marisela, my thoughts and the pack's thoughts are constantly being exchanged. If we don't try to conceal anything we're thinking we can hear it. I know you wouldn't ever do that but they...it's hard for them to trust you as much because they don't think the absolute most of you. You're my imprint and I'd worship the ground you walk on if you'd let me. They don't have that feeling, though. Where I know you wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose, they have their doubt due to what you are. I can't control what I come up with subconsciously when they're constantly voicing concerns."

"And by 'they' you mean Leah and Sam." I state and he frowns slightly.

"I understand that." I say gently. "And I'm sorry, too. For constantly fighting with Leah. I have to admit I get a sick feeling of accomplishment knowing that she can't hurt me no matter how much I cut her down, and I'm sorry about that."

He smiles at me a little.

"I love you." He says it, and my eyes go wide. He's told me he loved me before, but I knew he meant it in a friendly way. Not an "I'm in love with you" way, and it makes me grin.

"I love you, too." I reply and he licks his lips before he leans forward and kisses me. "I guess now would be a good time to tell you that Bella invited Jacob to a graduation party and I'm going with him, Quil and Embry."

"Ahh," He takes in a sharp breath and squints his eyes. "We'll talk about that, later."

"Okay." I say quietly and he kisses me hotly, hugging me to him.

"I have to go." He grumbles when I pull away. I slide off of him and on to the bed.

"Be careful." I tell him.

"Never." He says as he stands and stretches his arms up, popping his back.

He kisses one last time, chastely, before he takes his shorts off, opens the window, and jumps out of it.

•

"So," Emily says when I come downstairs. She's reading a book, sitting on the couch with her feet resting on Sam's lap as he flips through channels. "Any plans tonight?"

"Um, nope." I reply, glancing at my phone to see what time it is.

Jared, Embry, Seth and Jacob all look at me.

I grin at Jared, wrapping my arms around his neck and I can tell he's slightly confused.

"So," I say, barely audible. Emily can't hear me, but I'm speaking quiet enough where Sam can't, either. Not that he's paying attention anyway. "Who's up for some fun tonight?"

"Depends on what your definition of fun is." Jacob reply's, in the same low tone I used, unamused.

"I have an experiment I'd like to test out." I keep whispering and the three boys look at me. "And I need a willing participant."

"Count me out then. I don't feel like being Paul's target when he finds out about whatever incredibly stupid thing you have sprouting in that sick little mind." Jacob says, leaning back and crossing his arms.

"Forget Paul, what about Sam?" Seth asks, whispering like us as he glances at his alpha in the living room.

"Would I walk you through the valley of the shadow of death?" I ask them and they all stare at me, as if to say "you've tried to kill us before". "Point is, they won't find out. As long as you keep your mouths shut and keep your thoughts to yourselves."

"Did you not say that exact same thing when you and Embry slept together and Paul knew the entire time?" Jared asks next and I purse my lips as Embry looks at me with raised.

"He's got a point, Mari." He takes Jared's side and I roll my eyes.

"This is different." I argue. " _Please_." I lean my head down to look at Jared's face and he sighs.

"Fine." He relents and I smile widely and can't help the excited squeak that comes from my throat. I kiss his temple quickly, patting his shoulders. "Okay, now what's this experiment you want to test out, Bill Nye?" He asks and I look at him, Embry and Seth.

•

"What the hell have you been smoking? Are you crazy?!" Jared asks when I tell him the plan. We're on the beach, having to sneak past Paul and Quil when going through the Forrest. They knew the boys were here but we had to mask my scent so Paul wouldn't flip shit.

I just blink at Jared and tell the truth.

"Yes." I cross my arms after I say it and he furrows his brows.

"Shouldn't you be doing this type of thing with the Cullens?" Seth asks timidly.

"If one of you are willing to take the heat from Paul, I'll gladly march my ass to their house. It won't work the same though because none of them are alive aside from Bella and I'm not risking killing her."

"But you'll kill one of us?!" Jared asks, confused further.

"It won't kill you. You're able to heal."

"If we're able to heal on our own then doesn't that affect your fucked up hypothesis?" He shoots at me and I think a second.

"The bigger the injury, the longer it takes to heal, right?" I ask him and he exhales.

"Yeah."

"Okay then. You break an arm or get a really bad cut and if it heals on it's own it'll take longer than if I just heal it."

"Do you even know you can heal physical problems? The only thing you did was just make Paul and his dad feel better. They weren't in any physical pain. What if whatever weird shit you have going on, only applies to emotional pain and not physical?"

"Then I'll know the extent of what I'm capable of and it'll be fine because you'll heal on your own. Carlisle said I should have the ability to heal physical problems as well."

"You're forgetting the part where one of us has to endure crippling pain, Marisela!" He argues.

"You're the one's who wanted to help me!"

"That was before We knew you were gonna, like, maul one of us!" Jared argues for Seth.

"It'll last half a second, if I can Heal it and then whatever pain you feel will be transferred to me." I explain and he sighs.

"And if you can't heal it? Then what? He just keeps bleeding until he dies or you decide he's dinner?"

"Carlisle said my resistance to blood-thirst is better than any newborn he'd experienced. I blame it on your stench keeping my appetite at bay." I assure Seth. "You'll be fine."

"If you kill him, I swear to God, Mari, I will have him tell your mom the fuckery you've been up to when he sees her." Jared threatens.

"Might as well get him to do it because when you die, you won't be seeing my mother where you're going. _She's a saint_." I smirk out.

"Then the Apple falls very far from the tree." He says, taking his shorts off. "Just, don't fucking eat him. Whatever you do." He tells me and I roll my eyes.

"Just play dead." I order Seth and he shifts, along with Jared.

Me and Embry step back, and Jared lunges for Seth's throat, sinking his teeth into it. Seth screeches, thriving, before Jared sharply gives a shake of his head, tearing the wound further.

"I really hope you know what you're doing." Embry mumbles, worried now that Seth's airway has been severely torn. Jared backs off.

Seth's thrashing on the ground, his breathing quick, trying to get as much air as possible. I crouch down beside him pulling his large head in to my lap. My hands find his wound, and he turns in to a whimpering mess.

I focus on his healing, imagining the wound closing as the tissue reconnects.

Just when Jared and Embry are convinced it won't work, I feel a horrible pain in my throat. Like it's being torn apart. I try my best not to scream, because Paul will hear it and come to my aid.

I squeeze my eyes closed, grinding my teeth and cursing under my breath.

Seth starts breathing again with no struggle, his eyes closing as relief washes over him. When the pain eases in my own throat, I figure he's healed completely and I take my hand off of him.

"Oh, my god." Embry says, shocked as Jared and Seth shift back to human. I avoid looking at them naked and Embry hands them their shorts.

"How do you feel?" I ask Seth and he sits back down on the sand and takes some more breaths before answering.

"Fine." He tells me. "Like, more than fine."

I feel relieved, and excited about what I'm able to do.

"But I am not doing that again." He says next and I laugh, nodding, before I reach forward and hug him, careful not to break him.

•

By the time we get back to Emily's, she and Sam are asleep. Seth and Jared say Goodnight, leaving me and Embry in the yard.

He stares at me and I look down, crossing my arms over my chest.

"That was really stupid." He tells me and I look at him. "Incredibly stupid." He adds and I rub my lips together. "But pretty amazing, too."

I give a small smile and nod.

"Yeah. Yeah, it was."

He keeps looking at me and I clear my throat.

"You need to get home. Your mom will be really worried." I try to put some distance between us by stepping up the stairs of the porch and he scoffs a little.

"You mean Paul could show up any minute and see us alone together." He states and I sigh.

"He trusts us, Embry. I don't care if he sees us or not."

"So you're saying if he came up, right now," he gets closer to me, getting up on the porch. "And saw us, he wouldn't think for a second, anything's going on?"

"Goodnight, Embry." I don't argue, knowing Paul would be slightly bothered.

"What I thought." He chuckles, lacking humor. "Goodnight, Mari." He says before turning to leave.

I get in the house and shut the door, stepping up the stairs to my bedroom.

I get in bed and curl up, closing my eyes to rest as much as I can since I can't sleep.

My mind finally goes in to a sleep-like daze, but my body stays awake.

I lay there well in to the morning, and at around 4:00, the bedroom window opens and I open my eyes to see Paul in nothing but his underwear.

"Did you see anything?" I ask him and he shakes his head.

"Nope." He closes the window and locks it before he makes his way to the bed, getting in beside me. "I'm exhausted, though."

"Lucky. I wish I could get tired and sleep." I grumble and he chuckles, rubbing it in as his arm wraps around my abdomen. Like always his skin is hot and I welcome the firey sensation with open arms, closing my eyes again.

"You know, the funniest thing happened." He says.

"What happened?" I ask.

"We went to check the beach, and I caught your scent, Seth's, Embry's and Jared's. It hadn't been long since you four had left and earlier than that, I smelt the three of them but not yours." He explains and I tense up. "Next time you sneak around, remember to mask your scent before you come back home, not just leaving."

I roll over to face him and he's looking at me with raised brows.

"I'll be sure to remember that next time." I can tell it's a response he isn't expecting and a low growl vibrates in his chest. "I'm kidding." I roll my eyes.

"What were you doing?"

"Just goofing off." I reply. "Like we used to do before any of you were wolves. We used to have a lot of fun. Now everything's so serious."

"I know." He agrees. "I don't like it, either."

I get quiet, my finger tips gently gracing his cheek.

"Maybe you should come to the graduation party with me." I offer and he scoffs.

"I'd rather have my throat ripped out than have to tolerate them any longer. I can stand going to get you help, but just going to their house for the hell of it is not how I want to spend my night off of Sam's orders."

"Not even for your imprint?" I ask and he looks at me.

"Don't use that to manipulate me." He groans and I sit up.

"I'm not trying to manipulate you. I just wish you'd give them a chance. They're nice. They've done nothing but help me, Paul. Stop acting like they're monsters."

"Okay, I'm sorry. But that still doesn't mean I'm going to that party. You'll have Jake and Quil and Embry. You'll be fine."

"Fine." I lay back down, closing my eyes again.

"Goodnight." He tells me, kissing my cheek and I nod, mumbling goodnight to him.

I turn the news on, attempting to help Emily cook breakfast.

There's a story on the kid that went missing named Riley Biers, and I look up from my cooking to see his face plastered on the screen.

I drop the glass bowl I'm scrambling eggs in and it shatters on the floor as my mouth opens slightly in shock from the TV.

Emily gasps, jolting a little and Sam comes inside from talking to Seth and Jared outside.

Paul's in the kitchen in no time, a towel draped around his hips as soap slips down his body and on to the floor.

"What's wrong? What happened?" He asks me frantically and I swallow down the lump in my throat.

"That's who bit me." I finally speak and he snaps his head at the TV. "He turned me."

"Wait, that's the guy from Seattle? The one you went off with"

"Yes."

"Who the hell turned him, then? He just went missing." Jared asks, standing in the doorway with Seth and I shake my head.

"I'm not sure." I say honestly.

"Maybe your friends you speak so highly of know something about it." Paul says harshly, walking back to the bathroom to rinse off. I follow him, avoiding the broken glass. I lean against the bathroom door after he gets back in the shower and pulls the curtain.

"The Cullens don't feed off of humans. And they also don't jut go around and bite people for no reason. Why the hell would they be in Seattle in the first place?"

"I try not to get in to other people's business." He replies through the sound of rushing water.

"Ha!" I laugh out sarcastically.

"Go finish cooking. I'm hungry." I can hear the eye roll in his tone and I cross my arms.

"Me, too." I say and he gets quiet. "No comment? K." I scoff and turn on my heel to go to the kitchen and Seth helps me and Emily clean up the mess before me and her start back to breakfast.

Paul's plate is waiting on him by the time he gets back in the kitchen, after everyone else has ate and Quil, Jared and Seth go back outside.

I sit on the counter and Paul smirks as he sits at the table and starts eating.

The burn in my throat becomes more apparent as time passes, slowly taking a toll on me. Carlisle told me My throat would stop burning so bad when I'm hungry after a few weeks, and my eyes should've changed color as a result of not having human blood in my system from feeding, as well, but it doesn't worry him that they're still a vivid red. He figures they'll slowly change within the next few days.

Emily's once appealing scent is taken place by that of wolf, due to her constantly being around them and sharing a bed with one, and I'm relieved to find that I don't find her appetizing anymore. Which means my control and thirst for blood has calmed down immensely since turning.

I catch a whiff of one that's fresh, though, and my head snaps to the door as the sound of a child crying fills the air...along with the lingering scent of blood.

I dig my nails in to my palms, Paul pulling me in to his lap, his strong arm lighting my skin on fire wherever my clothes don't cover. He's hot, regarding his looks and his constant 110 degrees Fahrenheit temperature. Vampires are sensitive to heat, but it hasn't made me avoid any physical contact with any of them. If I can tolerate living undead, I can tolerate being surrounded by, and constantly hugged and touched by particularly warm skin.

The cries get louder as Quil brings a toddler in, holding her hand in his as he carries her in his other arm.

I see her skinned knee, a little blood coming from the scrape, and Paul tightens his hold around me.

Quil watches me, watching the child and he growls aggressively as Emily walks to them.

"I got her." Emily tells him and he gives the girl to her to patch up. "Aww, Claire." Emily frowns at her crying niece and I feel a wash of sadness through me, hearing her cry.

Before I can stop myself, I'm trying to get out of Paul's lap. Quil gets between me and Claire, growling again.

"I'm not going to hurt her." I assure him, although the ache in my throat wants me to be lying.

Paul sighs, loosening his grip, standing to follow me over to Claire, who's still crying, regardless of Emily's efforts.

Quil gently takes her off of the counter where she's sitting, waiting for Emily to clean the wound out.

He holds her close to him, carefully looking at me.

"If you do anything to hurt her, I will kill you, Mari." He promises me in a low tone and I nod, but Paul lets out his own growl in return.

I smile at Claire, grabbing her hand very gently in mine, before I rest my other hand on her hurt knee.

I imagine it healing in my mind, and I feel calmness and relief leave me and transfer to her in exchange for her knee. A slight sting spreads across my knee in the same place hers is, and I smile widely as she stops crying and starts laughing.

The sting I feel disappears and I let go of her hand.

Quil looks down at her knee to see the once damaged skin is good as new and he blinks at me.

"You're welcome." I tell him smartly.

"Thank you." Claire tells me the best she can when Quil opens his mouth to speak.

"You're very welcome." I reply to her, softly.

I give her hand a delicate squeeze, careful not to hurt her, and kiss her cheek before she shyly smiles and tucks her face in to Quil's neck.

He mumbles his own "thank you" and leaves us to go back outside to play with her.

"He imprinted on her." Paul tells me when they get outside and I furrow my brows.

"She's a baby." I state, repulsed at the idea.

"Imprinting doesn't have to be a romantic thing. It's just a significant bond that can be honored through anything from a relationship to close friendship." He tells me.

"Then why're we dating when we can just be friends?" I'm not serious when I ask the question, more than happy that we're in a relationship. I'm not expecting his answer when Sam and Emily go outside to be with Quil and the others.

Paul's breath grazes the back of neck where I'm standing at the counter, facing the sink, his arm wrapping around me as the other holds on to the edge of the counter. He pulls me back to him, strategically making sure all the right places are aligned concerning my backside and his groin.

"Because some of the things I think of doing to you would never classify as platonic." His lips graze my ear as he speaks lowly and I have to force myself not to moan at what exact sinful possibilities could come from that mind of his.

He presses a kiss on the back of my neck, before his warmth leaves me alone in the kitchen as he goes outside to be with the others.

I know what he's doing...tempting me. Trying to get me to give in. Little does he know, I can play just as dirty as him.

"Yeah, we'll see how big and bad Paul is when I have him begging for it like a bitch in heat." I mumble to myself, starting to scrub dishes frustratedly.

•

The next three weeks consists of my hunger for blood remaining at bay.

The pack's at a point now that since I'm no longer in a "life or death" situation, it's unnecessary for them to further attempt to trust the Cullens anymore outside of their wolf form.

I don't argue with their precaution, and neither do the Cullens, respecting the instinct they feel in their blood to never let their guard down around cold ones.

My eyes are changing, ever so slowly to a golden color, adjusting to my diet. I look healthier, my once dull skin nearly back to its original glowing color. I assume it's because I'm being well-fed, every time me and Paul go out for a walk he always ends up disappearing, killing something and dragging it to me.

Paul has turned in to my designated hunting assistant, due to the fact that Sam wants to make sure I obey the treaty and avoid killing someone. He thinks knowing I'm accompanied by a wolf will keep any out-of-pocket behavior at bay.

Seth fills in for Paul whenever he's unable to accompany me. Embry was willing to help, but like I assumed, Paul put an end to the idea of us being alone together for possibly hours, very quickly.

Paul's frustration with me has grown in the past weeks, my desire to be with the ones of my own kind has him agitated. I'm at their house almost every day, learning more from them, as Paul stubbornly waits outside with resentment thick in every breath he heaves out heavily to make everyone know he hates being within a mile of them.

I've seen him go as far as looking Carlisle in the eye from one of the many windows in the house, while raising his leg to piss on a tree in the yard.

He doesn't understand that I enjoy being around them. I'm a black sheep in Quiluete territory, an outsider. And to almost all of them, a time-bomb, destined to destroy whatever's in my wake when I decide to snap.

But with the Cullens, I'm nothing less than an equal that deserves respect.

Carlisle teaches me healthier habits of control, as well as preps me for what I might struggle with eventually.

His wife, Esme reminds me greatly of my mother. Very compassionate, like her husband, and is willing to help anyone she can.

I can't form in to words how appreciative I am of Alice. She's possibly one of the only reason's I haven't let any of this overwhelm me. Her optimistic personality matched with her sense of style has most definitely been a healthy distraction due to her making me try on clothes and give my opinion on my never ending wardrobe she's been creating for me.

Her husband Jasper's ability to control emotions has helped me avoid arguments with Paul multiple times the past few weeks, and has also aided me in being happy when I'm really not.

I resonate the most with Rosalie. We've only spoken a few times, but she's always been kind and sympathetic towards me. I think it's because I've expressed my slight solemnity at the fact I can't have children of my own, now. Which is something me and Paul haven't even thought to discuss. Her husband Emmett told me that not living a normal life was something Rose still mourns from time to time.

Emmett wasn't Paul's biggest fan, and I often found myself telling him to be nice anytime the topic of the wolves came up.

It's not that big of a deal because Emmett knows I defend them when the pack starts their shit-talk.

I rely on Edward, as well, being he has an advantage over Paul: being able to read his thoughts.

He informed me one of the many causes of Paul's fury is feeling as if he's losing me since my interest in being around the Cullens so much has piqued. He fears I'll leave the reservation permanently and reside with them.

Seth told me Paul's let it slip that it's because I'm unmated. The animalistic side of him's rattling the cage to go ahead and claim me. Paul doesn't scare me, knowing the violence of his attitude and threat against cold-ones is never applied to me. But his irritation and slow loss of his patience _is_ directed towards me. He hasn't pressured me the slightest, but I can tell he's getting more aggressive.

Anytime we get caught up in each other, his grip on me is tighter, his kiss is more rough and demanding. He's having a harder time containing himself, and it's intimidating.

I just stare at Paul as he eats, waiting patiently for him to finish a early dinner.

"So," I start and he looks at me, shoveling rice in to his mouth. "Are you busy later tonight?"

He chews his food, packing in another mouthful before he speaks.

"It depends." He shrugs. "If you can convince Sam to hand off patrol to someone else, then I am. Why?"

"I was just wondering..." I press my lips together.

"I'm still not going to that party." He says as if he's reading my mind and I frown.

"I don't want you to." I lie, leaning against the counter. "Besides, you've been breathing down my neck Enough the past few weeks."

The words are meant to tease him, but he just smirks, knowing exactly what I'm referring to.

There's a thick tension that's created in the air between us and I realize it's from my "mate", as Carlisle refers to him.

Desire lights a match in his eyes as they rake up my body. He takes in my appearance, a low growl of approval cutting through the air as the other present wolves shift uncomfortably in their chairs, probably hearing Paul's explicit thoughts.

Emily clears her throat to ease the tension, not having the ability to hear Paul but his intentions become apparent when he unapologetically adjusts himself due to his shorts becoming tighter.

I step to the stairs, needing to get away from him, his scent alone has gotten to the point where it's tempts me. Maybe it's the fact that the desire I have for him has overcome my distaste for the scent of wet dog that saturates his skin.

Paul moves to get up but Sam grabs his arm and stops him, knowing the outcome if he allowed us to be alone at the moment.

I feel Paul's temper rise from where I'm going up the stairs, and I squeeze my eyes closed and pray Sam doesn't give in to Paul's stubborn anger and let him come up here with me.

I start getting ready for tonight, an outfit Alice gave me last night for the party is laid out on the bed and I look over it again.

It's a crimson red romper with sleeves that hang off the shoulders, and she's given me light-tan colored open toed heels to wear with it.

I pull the romper on, finding it's not as loose as I expected, fitting to me snuggly but not too tight, and I put the heels on.

I step to the bathroom, combing my curly hair out with my fingers before I bundle it up in to a high pony tail. I pull the short hairs around my hair line out so they frame my face, and examine myself in the mirror.

I'm glad my eyes aren't blood red anymore, or they'd match the color of my outfit and stand out more.

Flipping the light switch off, I step downstairs and walk past the boys to go outside and get my phone from Paul's truck.

I grab it from the seat and turn, running right in to Jared.

"Jesus!" I shout with a jump, my eyes wide.

I gently shove him, trying to calm down since he scared me.

"Listen," He mumbles, looking around. "You need to have do something with Paul. I know you're scared of hurting him but toughen up because he's making our lives a living hell. If I have to hear another thought of what he wants to do to you, I'm going to cry."

"Why can't he just keep them from you?" I ask, regarding Paul's thoughts.

"I don't fucking know, he wants us to suffer with him, I guess. It's just getting annoying."

"And what if I don't?" I ask him with a raised brow.

"I'll tell him about your little experiment with Seth that you went behind his back to pull off." He warns me and I cross my arms.

"Fine." I hiss. "I'll think of something to occupy him from dragging you in to his sexual fantasies." I roll my eyes and walk back in to the house, feeling Paul's gaze on me.

I step to the fridge and grab a beer, giving Jared a glare before I put the beer on the table and sit in Paul's lap.

Sam notices the beer I'm about to open for my boyfriend and scowls at me, about to protest but I give him a look.

 _I'm fixing the problem_ , I mouth at him when Paul isn't paying attention, too busy planting a kiss on my neck.

I open the beer, offering it to Paul and he looks at me, slightly confused.

"What?" I ask and he cuts his eyes at me.

"What do you want?" His words cause me and Jared to exchange a look. "You're only like this when you want something, or you're buttering me up to tell me something I won't like."

"I just..." I glance at the boys and Jared points his eyes in Seth's direction, reminding me of his blackmail and I sigh, shaking my head. "...am still trying to convince you to go tonight, I guess." I shrug, resting my arm around his neck.

He scoffs, taking a sip of beer.

"Gonna take more than an beer and sweet-talk to convince me to ever step foot in that house again."

"What about sex?" Jared asks sharply, and I snap my attention to him. "Would sex convince you to go tonight...and also get in a better mood from now on?"

"Would me dragging your ass from one end of this reservation to the other get you to shut the hell up and mind your own damn business?" I snap and Paul grips my thigh, silencing any other snark remarks I have an urge to hurl Jared's way.

"Since when do you two argue?" Leah asks me and Jared, stepping in to the house and I just cut my eyes at him.

"Hey, Paul, why don't you ask Mari what she was doing with Embry and Seth three weeks ago while you were busy out on patrol?"

It's a weighted question, leaving far too much for the imagination to interpret perversely.

Paul looks at me, not accusingly, but he's trying to keep himself calm.

"I'll tell you later." I mumble to him and he nods, but Sam still doesn't have closure...until Jared tells him telepathically what happened.

" _What_?" Their alpha eyes me, tensing up.

I realize what's happened, and I gain a tighter grip around Paul, feeling Sam's paralyzing anger.

"You _what_?" Leah's next, a very obvious growl lacing her words.

Paul's hearing this in his own mind, the apparent arguing between them.

"That's my brother!" She screams at me, almost lunging across the table. Sam holds her back as Paul stands, pushing me behind him. "She broke the treaty." She seethes in Sam's ear. "Just wait until the council hears about this." She barks at me and Paul's anger radiates off of him.

"She didn't kill Seth. The treaty doesn't apply to her, anyway. She wasn't even alive when it was created. And the Cullens don't claim her as part of their coven." Embry defends me.

"Leah, chill out. I'm fine." Seth adds and she glares at her younger brother.

"You almost died, Seth! Just so this monster could try to prove something to herself!"

"And what exactly am I trying to prove?" I ask her, annoyed.

"That you're good for something besides tearing animals apart and keeping Paul unsatisfied." She speaks with such ferocity that my instinct wants to kick in and run like any sane vampire would once faced with the challenge of a shape shifter.

Paul rolls his jaw and I grind my teeth together.

"Enough of this." Emily's voice calms Sam instantly, as she fixes herself between us. "Seth's Alright. Mari didn't hurt him too bad, and as for the council," she looks Leah pointedly. "I don't see why they should be aware of whatever happened since everyone's okay."

Sam nods eventually, not able to tell his sweet Emily "no".

Leah can't seem to settle herself, storming out and I push past Jared roughly to get upstairs.

Paul follows me, shutting the door behind him.

"You told me it was just goofing off. You forgot the part where you got Jared to almost kill Seth so you could see if you could heal him." His tone is harsh, signs of his wolf surfacing, and turn at look at him.

"It was stupid, I get it." I sit on the bed and he sits by me.

He's furious, shaking a little, but it doesn't stop his eyes from raking up my legs, the smell of his want lingering in the air.

I try to distance myself, standing to walk to the window.

It's no use, his approach is evident as the feeling of intense heat prickles against my skin, his fingers slide against my exposed shoulder, gently wrapping around my neck. I'm helpless, tilting my head so he has better access to the place where my neck and shoulder meet.

His scalding lips press to the flawless skin there, and I close my eyes, my hand grasping the window sill.

His hands fall to my hips and I have to lean forward and rest my forehead against the glass of the window.

Teeth tug at the skin of my upper back, trailing down to the fabric of my romper.

I keep my eyes closed when he pulls at the top of the sleeves, causing them to slide down my arms completely.

He pushes the rest down my waist, exposing the back of my strapless bra.

I stop my habited breathing when his hands unclasp my bra. My hands tighten on the window sill, causing the wood to splinter. The rest of the romper is slipped down my hips, exposing my thong and I step out of the pile of clothing on the floor and push it aside with my heeled feet.

His hands are demanding when he makes me turn to face him.

Brown eyes taking in a bare chest as hot hands slide down my arms before shifting to the skin of my ribs, his thumb deliberately brushing against the smooth skin where my breast and top of my ribs meet.

I lick my lips, looking up at him in a daze, merely intoxicated by him.

Just as our lips meet, I hear footsteps approaching the door.

There's a knock, and he shows his clear distaste for the interruption, giving a death glare at the door.

"Mari, Jake's here. We're about to leave." Embry's gentle voice pulls me from the rough male in front of me.

"Okay." I reply.

I move to put my bra back on, and Paul whines.

I look at him with furrowed brows and rub my lips together.

"What's wrong?" I ask him and he shakes his head.

"I'm just frustrated." He plops down on the bed and rakes his fingers through his hair.

"I am, too, Paul." I admit. "I want to, I really do. But we just..." I try to look for words but I can't come up with any. "This isn't the time or place anyway." Is all I come up with and he sighs.

"Anytime and place is better than nothing at this point." He grumbles.

"Do you want to sleep with me because you're jealous and want to stake your claim or because you genuinely want to be that intimate?"

His face is merely repulsed by this accusation and he scoffs.

"Of course to you it seems I'm just getting angry because I haven't washed away any trace of Embry yet."

"Seth told me you're upset because I'm 'unmated'."

"I'm upset because despite your somewhat overwhelming scent, I can still smell Embry on you."

"What does that have to do with—"

"I thought I smelt it because you two were around each other a lot. But when I found out you two..." He trails off before taking a deep breath. "...I'll just say I can tell you didn't use condoms a lot when you were screwing around."

My face twists, slightly embarrassed by his knowledge of this.

"How the hell did you even—"

"Because I'm not smelling him on you, Mari. His scent is still _in_ you. Even after your transition. And I hate it."

"Christ, he didn't finish in me, Paul." I argue and he shakes his head.

"Skin to skin contact transfers scent. Nothing was blocking his skin inside you."

"How the hell has that managed to stay after almost a year?" I'm confused.

"It's a wolf thing. I mean, you smell us all the time. It's pretty potent, is it not? It's easy for us to transfer scent and have it stick regardless of if what we mark bathes a lot. It's there until another wolf claims it next."

"Embry didn't claim me, Paul. He didn't mean to mark me up or whatever." I defend my friend and Paul rests his elbows on his knees as I finish getting ready.

"I know that, but it's still hard for me to continuously have to smell him lingering through your scent. It doesn't sit well with me."

"I'm aware." I cross my arms once my sleeves are fixed on them.

"Mari!" Embry shouts from the car downstairs and I look at Paul one last time.

"I'll be back later." I say as I walk to him. His hands grab my hips again and I lean down and press a surprisingly gentle kiss to his lips.

"Okay." He tells me.

I smile and give him one last kiss on the forehead before I leave him alone and go with Jake, Quil and Embry.

•

The ride to the Cullen's is everything awkward and in between. I reek of lust, the evidence of my time with Paul earlier, and it makes the three wolves in the car with me uncomfortable. I don't blame them. I would be too.

When we arrive, I'm the first one out of the car, needing to escape my own scent.

I'm also the first one in the house, the three boys hesitating to step foot in there in human form.

I swing the door open, met by loud music and dancing bodies. I don't know anyone here, nor do I bother to meet them. I'm here to escape the prison that is the reservation. Sam's rules and regulations are starting to suffocate me.

I see a single familiar face: Bella Swan, Edward's human girlfriend.

"Bella," I say her name, walking to her, my accent particularly thick around her name.

"Hey," she smiles at me and I hug her. She's taken back by this, but welcomes it slightly awkward.

I pull away, keeping my arm around her as she looks at Jake.

"Hey," He tells her, guilty.

"What're you doing here?" She asks him, slightly rude.

"You invited me, remember." He relies to her smartly and she shakes her head a little.

"Was My right hook too subtle for you? That was me uninviting you." She states.

"Look, Bella, I'm sorry. About the kiss...and your hand. I'd blame it all on the whole inner animal thing but really it was just me being an ass." He confesses an she gives a very small smile at his brutal honesty towards himself. "I'm really sorry." He adds and she looks down slightly in thought. "But I brought you something," he pulls a bracelet with a wolf charm on it and holds it out to her. "A graduation present. I made it myself."

She takes it from him slowly, admiring it and I give him brownie points in my mind.

"Wow," She says lowly. "You made this?"

He gives a proud smirk and nods.

"It's really pretty. Thanks." She feeds his ego some more and I glance around, noticing Embry and Quil are slightly annoyed being in here.

I see Alice coming down the stairs and she suddenly stops, her eyes fill with worry.

She's having a vision.

Bella picks up on this.

"I'll be right back." She tells us as she moves through Quil and Embry to get to Alice.

"Alice, what'd you see?" Bella asks her and me and Jake walk to them.

"The decision's been made." Alice tells Bella.

"What's going on?" Jake asks her.

"You aren't going to Seattle." Bella says it like a fact and Alice shakes her head.

"No," She says. "They're coming here."

•

"They'll be here in four days." Alice says.

Her, Me, Jake, Embry, Quil, Carlisle, Jasper, Edward and Bella are all standing outside on the deck overlooking the wooded areas around their house.

"This could turn in to a blood bath." Carlisle speaks worriedly, pacing.

"Who's behind it?" Edward asks his sister.

"I didn't see anyone I recognized." Alice replies before pausing. "Maybe one."

"I know his face. He's a local, Riley Biers." Edward says his name and I tense up.

I know the face all too well.

"He turned you." Edward says next, directing his words to me.

"Yes." I confirm. "But I doubt he's the one behind all of this."

"Well whoever is behind it is staying out of the action." Alice adds.

"They must be playing with the blind spots in your vision." Carlisle explains to her.

"Either way, the army's coming and there aren't enough of us to protect the town." Jasper cuts in.

"Hold up," Jake interrupts them. "What damn army?"

"New borns." Carlisle answers him. "Our kind."

"What are they after?" Embry asks next.

"They were passing around Bella's scent." Alice informs us. "A red blouse."

"They're after Bella? What the hell does this mean?" Jake's getting irritated.

"It means an ugly fight. With lives lost." Carlisle warns us.

Jake looks at Embry and Quil, silently communicating before saying, "Alright. We're in."

"No. You'll get yourselves killed. No way." Bella argues.

I can't help but chuckle at her lack of faith in them.

"I wasn't asking for permission." Jacob says to her.

"Edward." Bella looks to her boyfriend, wanting him to take her side of things. But he doesn't.

"It means more protection for you." He tries to tell her.

"Jacob," Carlisle catches his attention. "Do you think Sam would agree to an understanding?"

"As long as we get to kill some vampires." He replies, glancing at me briefly and I raise a brow.

"Jasper?" Carlisle asks, needing his opinion.

"They'll give us the numbers. Newborns won't even know they exist. It'll give us an edge."

"We'll need to coordinate." Carlisle stands tall as he talks.

"Carlisle," Bella argues. "They're gonna get hurt."

"We'll all need some training. Fighting newborns requires knowledge that Jasper has. You're welcome to join us." He tells Jacob and Jake nods.

"Alright. Name the time and place." Jake tells Carlisle.

"Jake, you don't know what you're getting yourself in to." Bella tells him weakly.

Her strong doubt makes me slightly angry. How dare she question their ability to do what they were made for? I cut my golden eyes at her.

"Bella, this is what we do. You should be happy. Look at us, working together. You are the one that wanted us to get along, remember?"


	8. Seven: Paul

_**Warning: Explicit Sexual Situations**_

* * *

" _This will never end cause I want more_

 _More, give me more, give me more_

 _If I had a heart, I could love you_

 _If I had a voice, I would sing_

 _After the night when I wake up_

 _I'll see what tomorrow brings"_

— _Fever Ray,_ _ **If I Had a Heart**_

 _ **Paul**_

I walk the edge of the ravine, my head down. I'm tired. Exhausted. And purely fed up.

But that doesn't keep me from trying to take care of Mari.

My jaws are locked around the neck of a cougar. I stand back before I leap to the other side of the rock, now in their territory. But I don't care. I drag the animal to the yard, seeing her with her arms crossed as she speaks with Carlisle in a low voice on the back deck.

She didn't return with Jake and the others, they told me she chose to stay a little longer.

I drop the carcass with a loud, deliberate, thud, and she looks at me.

"Excuse me." She says to Carlisle before she leaps from the deck to the ground.

I stand proudly, towering over her with my head tall.

She looks over the animal and frowns slightly.

"I'm not hungry." She tells me and my ears fall, disappointed. I then growl lowly, laying my ears flat to my head as I snap at her, irritated. "Don't get angry. I appreciate it, I really do. I'm just not hungry."

I curl my lip at her, and she gently lays a hand behind my ear, her nails gently scratching my fur and my wolf side is putty in her hands. Pathetic.

I find myself uncontrollably plopping down, my tail wagging, thumping the ground every now and then as she shows me attention that I personally think has been neglected. She has no problem showing me affection in human form, simply because I tempt her. But my wolf side hasn't been shown as much love.

I drag my tongue out, licking her smooth hand. I rub against her, nearly knocking her over with the power behind the movement. I my back reaches over her shoulder, making me huge compared to her.

She catches herself before she falls, laughing, steadying herself by placing a hand on my side. I start sniffing her, noticing she reeks of pale-face, and she rolls her eyes as a growl comes from me again.

"It's Carlisle." She tells me and I rub myself on her again, masking the god awful scent of him.

I lick my lips, sitting back down. I blink at her before I push her to the ground with my paw, causing her to fall flat on her back. She groans, confused, before I get on top of her and start sniffing her again. She chuckles at my unashamed attitude when I start licking her exposed shoulders, neck, and legs, laughing with a wide smile.

The cold one she was talking to before has left us to our own devices, probably deciding this moment needs to be for her and my eyes only.

I lay down next to her, whining a little. She rolls over on her side and looks at me.

Her hand comes up and glides over my fur on my cheek, ending it's descent at the top of my ear before repeating the motion again.

I keep looking at her, basking in her attention.

It isn't until she stands back up that I follow, shaking the dirt off of me.

"I'm ready to go home." She says with a sigh and I can't be fucking happier.

We walk home in silence, but it's not because either of us are angry. Usually she keeps her hands to herself and doesn't try to touch me, but this walk home, she's constantly petting me, reaching her hand out to run it through my fur.

When we get to my house, she walks inside as I change back, grabbing the pair of shorts my dad left for me on the porch. His truck isn't here so I figured he spent the night somewhere else. Jared took over for me for Patrol so I could go get Mari.

He was still mad at her from earlier, but I don't blame her for how she spoke to him. What me and her do sexually isn't his business or anyone else's.

I step in to the house, seeing the little red number Marisela wore tonight was on the floor by the door, along with the heels and her bra.

The part of me that's been coming out lately is delighted, a deep rumble moving through my chest with my wolfs excitement. I ignore it, knowing Mari probably won't be in the mood for any of it and I step to my bedroom. I expect her to be in the guest bedroom where she was stayed before, but she comes from my closet, pulling a T-shirt over her body.

I'm almost shocked, seeing her look at me with a raised brow.

"Is this okay?" She asks, holding the shirt in her hands.

I look her up and down, before I step to her.

She's the one to kiss me first, holding my face in her cool hands.

My hands grab her as soon as our lips make contact, my hands pulling her as close to me as I can get her.

A heavy dose of her own arousal seeps from her pores and I tug her lip between my teeth, causing a moan to escape her.

"You need to sleep." She tells me when she pulls away.

"I'm not tired." It's a lie from hell and she can sense it, looking at me, unamused.

"Paul." My name from her lips has me going for her neck, my hand tangled in her hair tightly to keep her from moving away from me.

Frail but strong hands fall on my arms, squeezing the muscle in warning. She won't hesitate to fight me off of her if she has to.

I ignore it, my lips brushing up to her jaw.

This time she pushes me away with force, my back hits the mattress and I laugh, sitting up.

She walks to me like I'm one of those dainty deer she feeds on, her hips swaying naturally with her movements and I take a deep breath.

Her hands push at my chest, causing the bone to pop uncomfortably, but the slight ache from it is soothed by the healing that's kicked in.

Her actions are ungodly, her tongue meeting where my shorts hang lowly on my hips, before they trail up my abdomen and to my chest.

Her legs straddle mine, as her teeth scrape against my collar bone, wanting a taste of something she can't have by the laws of Quiluete land.

I'd let her indulge in me, though, if she truly wanted to. I'd welcome those carnivorous teeth and that beautiful fatality of an appetite she possesses.

Hungry lips meet mine, my hand brushing the curls from her face as it serves as a curtain around us. I'm well aware of her parted legs, the junction of her thighs hovering slightly over the obvious sign of my own need.

I want so badly to let myself out of the shorts acting as restraint. Let her sink down on to me repeatedly, letting me wipe away any sign of _him_ that's left.

Her hands are holding my forearms, my hands subconsciously finding their way up her shirt, spreading across her stomach.

She's made of Stone, but the first few layers of skin are still pliable, humanly feeling aside from the abnormally cool temperature.

She sits up, allowing herself to relax, her core resting on the bulge in my shorts.

I can't help the breathy moan that comes from the back of my throat.

She's oh-so-pleasing to the eye. I recall her beauty catching me off guard the first time I saw her, it was magnified when she changed, I didn't think she could get any more gorgeous. I was wrong.

Her full lips pull in to a smile, a genuine smile, that makes the burn in my body for her shine brighter.

My hands on her drift up, slowly, and she tips her head back, her mouth opening as a breath hitches in her throat.

I've noticed she has no need to breathe anymore, she doesn't require it to survive, but she breaths out of habit, and I appreciate it. It makes it easier to believe she hasn't changed much.

She lifts herself off of me slightly, the loss of contact with her causes me to bare my teeth and growl inwardly.

Mari raises a brow and unbuttons my shorts before she pulls the zipper down.

I take my hands from her to push them off of me and she runs her tongue over her teeth at the sight of the tent in my boxers.

Labored breaths leave me as I try to keep my composure.

She's on me again, tongue on mine.

The usual sweet taste of her mouth has intensified, making me nearly drunk, quite literally.

She notices this and pulls away, laughing a lightly.

"It's venom." She says, her lips brushing against mine. "It's Sweet to attract any human prey. It's not harmful for you to ingest. It has to be injected through your bloodstream to cause harm. Carlisle's explained it's taken up any functions of my body. My tears, my saliva, my..." She trails off, looking between us before she hums a little. "Never mind."

I realize what she's saying and my mouth waters at the thought of her being as enticing between her legs as she is in her mouth.

That's why she smells so sweet when she's aroused. Her body's natural instinct to seduce prey and feed off of them.

I smirk, kissing her again, and she grinds herself against my groin, her hands falling on my knees for support.

My fingers find themselves under her shirt again, tracing each rib as her feet hook under my thighs, causing her legs to spread wider. A thick moan leaves her, her hands squeezing my legs, crushing capillaries, I feel bruises being made.

I buck my hips upward, meeting her middle and she squeezes her eyes closed, another potent surge of her excitement fills the air and grit my teeth as her hands cause more damage.

I decide if she's going to tear me apart, I might as well make it very well worth it.

In seconds I'm grasping her throat, forcing her on her back as I sit between her legs. Her thighs rub together, a pathetic whine coming from her.

I put my weight on her, kissing her again, pinning her arms down to keep her from causing any more harm to me. I don't mind it, but she won't like it if she sees she's doing it.

Her heels brush against the backs of my calves, allowing her leverage to rub herself against the hardening of my boxers. A sigh of pleasure fills the air from her and I look down at her carefully, pulling away to take a breath from our tangled tongues.

I want more of her. Just a single hit is all it'll take to satisfy me.

I try to convince myself of that, knowing I'll be selfish and want more and more, becoming a fiend and insatiable.

I peel the shirt off of her, tossing it aside, looking at her chest in proud lust.

Everything about her is perfect in my mind.

It's my turn to do some damage to her, keeping her arms held, my teeth dig into the supple flesh, leaving teeth marks that heal almost immediately. But that doesn't stop me from continuing my assault.

It's a rhythm I continue with, a pattern of biting and licking, avoiding the most sensitive part of her breast. I show no mercy to either of them, causing her to moan and whine, trying to rub herself against me but I won't allow it, only keeping myself inches from her aching core.

This annoys her, her chest heaving after she tries again to get some relief and I pull away.

The arch of her back causes her bare breasts to move against my chest, and she closes her eyes at the feeling of my body's warmth against her sensitive nipples.

" _Paul_ , please." Her voice is a sultry song, wrapping my mind in her seduction, now I'm the one breathing heavy.

My teeth clamp down on her nipple, causing her to cry out, my tongue running over it as it heals.

I do the same to the other, not able to keep her from running her hands through my hair.

 _I want more of her._

 _I want more of her than Embry was given._

I make sure to not silent this thought, making sure he hears it in his own mind loud and fucking clear.

Returning to keep my thoughts to myself, I sit on my knees and pull at the black thong covering her.

She's a hot mess, grabbing for my hand at the loss of my touch.

I chuckle, leaning down to kiss her stomach, then lower to her navel, then where the top of her panties once rested, by the time I get to her pubic bone, she's lifting her hips into me, her hands gripping the sheets on my bed.

Her eyes close, rolling back, and she's arching her back again.

Her taste is like straight whiskey, burning my throat and warming my stomach, but it's addictive and hard to resist.

I don't hold back, lapping at her like an alcoholic, biting in to her like a wolf biting at the heels of a cold-one who's intruded his land.

A single finger enters her, then two more.

Her legs end up over my shoulders, her hands grasping at my hair as she curses and whispers my name like a sacred chant to her god.

A mewl of something in a foreign tongue is formed from her mouth at her ending, her back arching and her hips causing her to grind in to my mouth.

I just take a deep breath, licking her clean, before I fall down beside her.

She looks at me, her hair a mangled mess, her body looking as if it's glowing under my attentions.

A toothy smile is thrown my way, her hand gently grabbing mine.

This situation is new for us.

She turns over to face me, her leg hooking over my hip as her face rests on my chest.

My own selfish pleasures are gone, happy that she's satisfied for the time being. I made her smile, that's all I care about.

She gets in my ear, lips brushing the skin of my neck before her tongue darts out to sample it.

Just a taste, that's all she wants. I'll give it to her if it makes her happy.

"I want more." She tells me, golden eyes wild with lust and a hunger that's screaming to be filled.

The words send another rush of blood through me and I roll over, facing her, my hand resting against her cheek.

"I think we need to rest." I fight the urge to take her, to have her on all fours and completely break her of anything remaining in her of Embry.

It's hot in here. The room's soaked in the thick fog of lust and I have to get out. This pale-face tempts me.

I get off the bed, going to my bathroom to splash my face with cold water and try to get some sleep on the couch.

I don't go back to my room, I won't ever come back out.

I lay on the couch, ignoring the ache in my groin, ignoring the smell of her on me, ignoring the voices in my head from my pack, angry at me for doing anything sexual with her.

I ignore it all and drift off to sleep.

•

She lets me sleep for seven hours, I wake up at eleven in the morning, and see Mari in the kitchen, doing the dishes.

"Good morning." She says to me with a wide smile, walking to me.

"Good morning," I yawn out, stretching.

She gets to me and I pull her on top of me, my hands on her thighs.

She's in the shirt of mine she was in last night before we discarded it.

"Are you hungry? I went to Emily's this morning and got you a couple biscuits and some bacon and eggs." She tells me sweetly.

"I'm starving." I explain. "Not for food, though."

She smirks, shoving me gently before getting off of me.

"Come eat." She calls from the kitchen. "Your food." She clarifies and I roll my eyes and stand up, walking to her.

"Thanks." I tell her, kissing her hair and grabbing my plate.

I eat my food, listening to her tell me the plan for today. We have to go train with the Cullens to prepare for whatever war her kind is bringing upon us.

I'm not worried about it, knowing Vampires have never intimidated me.

They're flight animals, barely ever fight.

"I suppose I can force myself to go." I grumble out. I hate the Cullens.

"Thank you." She kisses my cheek, before she walks back to my bedroom.

She smells like me, not as strong as she would if we had sex, but I'm not complaining. There's not a trace left of Embry's scent on her and I more than happy about it.

I finish my food and follow where she went.

She's standing at the foot of my bed, naked, digging through a bag.

She tells me something, but it goes through one ear and out the other. I'm too focused on her.

I want her.

Burning flesh meets ice and she ignores it, continuing to look through the bag on the edge of my bed as my fingers trail up her back.

I pull her hair to one shoulder and press my lips to her shoulder blade, then her shoulder, base of her neck and the start of her jaw.

She tenses up, the grip on the work-out leggings she's holding is like steel, and I tease her.

"You said you wanted more, right?" I ask, finding her control meaningless.

"Tonight." She looks over her shoulder at me. "We don't have time right now. But we will later."

She knows control all too well, having to hold herself back from tearing throats out and ripping off fingers pointed at her accusingly.

She's not barbaric. She's not belligerent. She just lunges at anyone who challenges her intentions.

Mari puts on red lace panties and then pulls the leggings on, putting on a sports bra and a loose, black workout tank top.

I take the opportunity to kiss her neck one last time before stepping to my drawer and getting another pair of shorts.

I decide it would also be a good time to change underwear, and when I unashamedly get naked in front of her, she snaps her back to me and let's out a flustered sigh.

"Get clothes on." She tells me snappily, going to leave but I grab her arm tightly, holding her marbled flesh in a vice grip.

We stare at each other, sizing each other up. She could do some damage to me right now. She could kill me.

But I dare her to come after me in my other form.

My eyes show a threat, hers do the same.

She's not good at submitting, knowing what I am, what the entire pack is, is superior to her kind. She accepts it, but she snaps her teeth at any paw that tries to get her to succumb to authority.

Sam and her have been knocking heads lately, the council thinking it's best if she gets off the reservation ever since Leah went straight to her mother to tell her about what Marisela, Seth, Jared and Embry did those weeks ago.

But she's not going anywhere, not that I'd let her, and anytime she's faced with an order from Sam she spits venom in the face of his charge. Daring him to retaliate using canines.

He's tried to get me to talk to her, but she's no longer playing nice with the people who've called her every vile thing known to man and I don't blame her.

I decide getting clothes on are pointless, I'm going to change anyway.

I walk out of my room, giving her a warning of my state of having no clothes on before I walk outside and shift.

She follows, her long hair resting low in a ponytail between her shoulder blades.

We arrive to the place Carlisle told her, stepping down a small hill of tree roots and rock. We're merely feet from them and Marisela goes to stand with them, but I catch her hand in my mouth, growling at her. She raises a brow, and I let her hand go, my tongue licking over it. Marisela runs her hand down my furry jaw, gently scratching it, and decides to stay beside me.

My eyes narrow at the cold-ones in front of us, their expressions slightly confused as everyone screams their distaste for this set up in my mind.

I refuse to be vulnerable to them. I've already had my fair share of being human in front of them and I'm not doing it again.

"They don't trust us enough to be in their human forms," One of the son's say, reading our thoughts.

 _Get out of my head, Leech_ , I show my teeth at him.

"They came," Carlisle states. "That's all that matters. Can you translate?"

Jacob gets close to Bella, acknowledging her in a love sick puppy way.

"Hey, Jake." She whispers.

 _Get back and stay focused_ , Sam growls at him and Jacob returns it.

"Welcome." Carlisle tells us, calmly. "Jasper has experience with newborns." He motions to another one of his son's who's standing at his left. "He'll teach us how to defeat them."

 _How're they different?_ Sam's voice is in my mind.

"They wanna know how they differ from us." The mind reader tells his father.

"They're a great deal stronger than us because their own human blood lingers in their tissues." He tells us. "Our kind are never more physically powerful than in the first several months of this life."

I look at Mari, feeling a roll of pride through me.

"Carlisle's right." Jasper takes the mantle. "That's why they're created." He narrows his eyes at Mari and I snarl at him. "A newborn army doesn't need thousands like a human army. But no human army can stand against them."

 _And you're screwing around with one_ , Leah's hiss to me causes a sharp snap of my teeth in her direction.

"Now the two most important things to remember are first, never let them get their arms around you. They'll crush you instantly. And second," He eyes all of us. "Never go for the obvious kill. They'll be expecting that. And you will lose."

I side eye Marisela, watching her watch as Jasper calls on another son named "Emmett" to fight him.

"Don't hold back," Jasper says with a smirk.

"Not in my nature." Emmett replies with the same sly look.

Emmett charges at the other, pushing at him in a sharp grip before he throws him. Jasper rushes back to him, and Emmett swings, missing and allowing Jasper to force him to the ground with a loud "thud."

"Never lose focus." Jasper says to Emmett's defeat, and Marisela nods slightly.

I can feel her bunched up nerves, anxiety taking a claim on her. She's worried, about herself or us, I'm not sure.

Papa pale-face and the mind reader are next, standing yards from each other. He nods at his son, and they charge at each other.

It ends with Carlisle on the ground and who I assume is Edward according to Jake's thoughts, winning.

"One more thing." Jasper tells his brother.

Carlisle forces himself up and knocks Edward down.

"Never turn your back on your enemy."

A blonde steps forward to Jasper, a look of determination on her face. I'm not going to lie and say she's isn't beautiful, no match for Mari, but not just simply pretty. I realize this is the one my girlfriend likes the most aside from Carlisle and his wife. I can see why. The blonde looks like she's just as difficult as Marisela.

She swings at Jasper twice, he dodges and grabs her ankle, throwing her, causing her to spin sideways in the air a couple of times before landing low to the ground.

I nudge her with my shoulder, and she looks at me with furrowed brows.

I shift my eyes from her to the place they're fighting and her lips part slightly.

I want to see exactly what this cold-one of mine is capable of.

 _Paul_ , it's a warning from Sam that I ignore.

Edward looks at me and Marisela before looking at his father.

"Would it be safe?" He asks him as me and Marisela step forward to them.

Carlisle looks at Mari and nods gently.

"You know when to stop?" He asks her.

"They won't let me get too far if I take it too far." She's referring to the pack and Carlisle looks at Edward.

"She knows her boundaries with her mate." He tells him.

"It's not her I'm worried about losing control." Edward says lowly and I growl.

I'd never hurt her.

Mari smiles at me before taking a step several feet away from me.

I do the same, getting low in a fighting stance, snarling at her. She's clenches and unclenches her fists as everyone watches in anticipation.

I charge at her, and she awaits me calmly, when I get to her, she swiftly flips over me, landing behind me on her feet. I turn, a growl of aggravation leaving my chest.

She goes to move again, but I catch her leg in my mouth, pinning her down to the ground.

My jaw aches when she kicks me off of her. I fly back, my back scraping the ground as she stands back up, ready to fight again. She's strong, I'll give her that, but I can tell she was holding back to try not to hurt me.

I don't hold back when I charge to her again, throwing her on the ground, my paws bearing all my weight as one presses on the center of her chest and the other on her shoulder.

She's looking up at me in a trance, blinking slowly, her mouth opened the slightest.

Her neck's exposed and I sink my teeth into the first few inches of frozen flesh.

•

She's hard to say "no" to. Soft moans filling the air the second we slam the door of my house. I'm against the door, fumbling to get her tank top off while my hand locks the deadbolt of the door behind me.

We're both distracted, tongues dancing, teeth fighting, an aggressive battle of dominance I've already won once today.

The shirt falls to the floor and she tugs her sports bra off next as a hot lust takes over my senses at the sight of her bare skin.

My back hits the floor, knocking the breath from me, but it's overlooked as she quickly pulls off her leggings and kicks them aside, along with her panties.

This is how our first time will be. On the wooded floor of the kitchen. I expected nothing less from two creatures like us, animalistic in our own ways.

The sweet "love making" her and Embry once did seems vile to me in this moment. That was when she was human, weak, fragile, possibly not able to handle the kind of physical demand I'm longing to put her body through.

I feel if I suggested us to be gentle or slow things down, she'd laugh in my face.

The dangerous darkness of her eyes tells me she'd find it amusing.

She's on top of me, teeth nipping up my chest, hands touching everywhere that they can.

Everyone's warning me, able to tell what's about to take place.

 _Don't you dare_ , Leah barks in my ear.

 _Paul, you're just looking to prove something to me. That's the only thing motivating you. You don't care about her_ , Embry lies to me and I laugh.

It's a chilling sound that causes Mari to look down at me with actual fear.

"What's wrong?" She sounds frantic, thinking I was laughing at something she was doing.

I just stare at her.

I do care about her. I'd do anything for her. Starting with making sure her options are loud and clear: Embry's no longer going to pose a threat to what's mine.

I use the opportunity of her off guard and pin her to the floor underneath me.

I look at where the mark on her neck is healing, slowly but surely, taking its time due to being from a shape-shifter, and my tongue rolls over it.

Her chest presses to mine, one hand in my hair while the other presses in to my shoulder blade.

Our lips meet again, not as rough this time, slower.

I pull away, putting my weight on my arms on either side of her.

"We're doing this?" She asks me in a whisper, taking her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Yeah." I reply. "If you want to."

"I want to." She states quickly. "But..." She trails off. "I don't—"

"Just shut up." I cut her short, kissing her again and she giggles, it quickly turns in to a moan, though, when my hand drifts between us, rubbing against her.

The sweet smell of her clouds the air around us again, and I have to restrain from being too rough.

I take a deep breath and sit up, continuing to move my fingers torturously slow on her most sensitive area.

Her legs fall open on their own, her face shows a look of pure lust, eyes low and her hair wild around her face.

She's panting, arching her back and whining lowly.

I take my fingers off of her, looking to see she's more than ready for me.

Another growl emits in my chest and she gets a glimmer of mischief in her eyes before she darts to my bedroom.

The wolf side of me doesn't like this, the chase only making him grow more aggressive. She's waiting for me on the bed, her legs squeezed together, her eyes sharpened with her want. She looks at me when I open the door, a look of amusement mixed with uncertainty on her face.

I slam the door, walking to her slowly, and she gives a taunting smile. My hand locks around her ankle, pulling her to me down the bed and she looks at my body, trying to suppress a moan but it doesn't work.

"Do you trust me?" I ask her lowly, leaning down, face to face with her.

"Always."


	9. Eight: Marisela

**A/N: Hey Guys! For those of you who don't know, you can find this story on Wattpad as well. Also, Prepare yourselves. The ending of this one is pretty heavy. As always, thank you for the support. —XyaLla**

* * *

 _ **Warning(s): Explicit Sexual Content**_

 _ **Mentions Of suicide**_

* * *

 _"I know you can't remember how to shine_

 _Your heart's a bird without the wings to fly_

 _Is anybody out there?_

 _Can you take this weight of mine?_

 _Is anybody out there?_

 _Can you lead me to the light?_

 _You are not alone_

 _I've been here the whole time singing you a song_

 _I will carry you, I will carry you"_

— _Ruelle ft. Fleurie,_ _ **Carry You**_

 _ **Marisela**_

I stare at them, every single one of them as Paul faces them, chin up, hand in mine.

It's a family gathering, someone's birthday, I don't pay attention to who. Someone I don't know. Everyone knows by now what we did last night. Anyone who can shift to fur can smell him on me.

"It's an _abomination_." I hear Leah whisper to her mother.

Oh how strongly they judge.

 _A fire, a burning fire within me is all that I feel. Fingers grabbing, crushing joints and tendon in cold hands._

 _Hips rocking in to mine, filling me to the brim in utter pleasure, stretching me. Curses leave my lips when I'm turned over, my neck being held tightly as my legs are spread. My cheek rests against cool sheets, but my relief is short lived when this beast is picking up where he just left off._

 _It's different from Embry. So much different. Embry was gentle, sweet...Paul's ruthless. Which is what I need at this moment._

 _If I could produce tears, they'd been streaming down my face. The force of him in me has my whole body shaking, trying to steady itself but being unable to. I let out a loud moan, clenching around him, causing him to continue his merciless pace._

 _His hand moves between my legs, furthering my oncoming release._

 _Tongue rolls up my spine and teeth bite in to my shoulder blade, causing me to be done with before I collapse under his weight._

 _His voice is low in my ear, malicious, as he growls out:_

 _"You're mine."_

 _I smirk, pinning him under me in the blink of an eye, sinking back down on to him. His hands go to my breasts, kneading and pulling, his thumbs rolling over my nipples. I look between us, seeing the cruel pace he's created in me. I smile at him, falling forward, capturing his lips in mine. His greedy hands travel to my hips, keeping me still as he does what he pleases to me._

 _The fire burns with more heat when he finishes and I don't dare move, leaning forward to lay down on him as he takes heavy breaths._

 _His skin has a faint sheen of sweat on it and his heartbeat's frantic._

 _I look at him, feeling his hand run through my hair, and our lips press to his gently._

 _"I love you." I say quietly and he wraps his arm around my waste, pulling me tighter to him._

 _"I love you." He replies, kissing my forehead._

 _I roll off of him, covering my body with a sheet and he turns to face me, enveloping me in his warmth._

Paul senses my weariness, squeezing my hand harder in his. We make our way to the people I actually know. Jared, Embry, Quil and Seth all acknowledge us in a decent manner. I find no looks of disgust here.

Seth's the warmest, standing from his place on a chair to hug me.

I don't even have to read his mind to know he's pitying me.

Jared gives me a pathetic smile, a silent apology for being an ass earlier. I accept it, returning the gentle look.

I can't make myself meet Embry's gaze as his eyes flash between me and Paul.

"I'm sorry." The words come out of me like vomit, unable to be contained. It's directed at Embry. The sting of my eyes lets me know I should be crying right now if I were human.

Paul looks at me, not saying a word. I don't feel guilty for what happened, but I know a part of Paul's making it some kind of competition. The apology was in place of words Paul should be saying but is too prideful to do so.

"For What?" Embry asks me, knowing why I'm apologizing but pretending to not be bothered by the heavy scent of Paul on me.

I don't answer the question, too distracted by arms coming up behind me and hugging me around the back of my thigh.

I turn and see two big eyes looking up at me.

 _Claire_.

I smile widely, crouching to her level.

It's ironic. This moment.

All the adults are terrified of me. What I am. So terrified that they curse what me and Paul have done.

But a child, someone much more fragile and innocent, refuses to believe the bedtime stories told of cold-ones feeding off the innocent.

She knows what I am, her eyes staring at my smile to see if she sees any sharp fangs or scary venom glands like a snake has.

Her mouth is open in a tiny "o" form, her wavy hair pulled back with a tiny blue bow. She sees I'm not as scary as she's been led to believe.

Her small hand reaches out to touch my face sweetly, her fingers on her other hand plucks a small twig out of my curled hair that must've gotten there while walking through the woods earlier. Instinct causes me to sense something within her, those eyes of hers have me seeing a future for her similar to the young men around us. Like her cousin Leah, she'll be one hell of a protecter

Warmth radiates through my right side as Quil crouches beside me. Her entire body lights up at the site of him. A very happy squeal and laugh fills the air as she walks to him in a slow stumble. He picks her up and carries her off somewhere, probably to aggravate Leah.

I stand again, facing Jared and Seth. Embry's wandered off to talk to a girl I haven't seen before.

My neck's hot when Paul's arm hangs around it, talking to Jared about something I don't pay attention to. I'm too busy feeling eyes on my back. Every single one of them are staring at me.

I feel hot anger stir in me and out of pure spite, I look at Paul, and press my lips to his.

It lasts only a moment, and when I pull away he's side eying his family who're mumbling their disgust at the action.

I turn to face them, gathered around a fire as day turns to night.

All of them refusing to make eye contact with me. All but one. An elderly woman, looking in her late nineties. Her hair is pure silver, her skin is a little darker than the natives around her. Her face is wrinkled, small sun spots under her eyes and her dark brown eyes crinkle at the sides as she smiles at me. A genuine smile.

"That's my great-grandmother Chenoa." Paul's telling me in my ear. "She's 100 today."

"I want to meet her." I say back, and he furrows his brows.

"Why?" He asks.

"She's smiling at me."

"She's kind of..." He trails off.

"She's wise." I argue, crossing my arms over my chest. "You're supposed to think highly of your elders because they've experienced more and gain knowledge to pass down to younger generations."

"Why am I supposed to think that? Because I'm Native American and that's what you've heard?"

"No, because that's what decent human beings do." I snap back. "Being respectful isn't a horrible stereotype to have put on a group of people, by the way."

He rubs his lips together, before he sighs.

"She's a trip." Is all he says. "But so are you so you'll get along fine."

We walk to her, her smile growing as I come closer.

"Grandmother," he regards her respectfully and I ignore the glares I'm getting from the people around her.

She's calls him something in a language I can't understand. He gives a warm smile at this, and I find feel a warmth within me due the sweet exchange.

"Who is this?" She asks, looking up at me with a welcoming closed-mouth smile.

"This is Marisela Augustine." He tells her clearly.

"She's come from faraway." His aunt, who's sitting next to her, adds.

"How far?" Chenoa asks me, eye brows raised the best to their ability.

"Europe." I state and she narrows those deep eyes at me.

"I know who you are." She points a crooked finger at me as if she's heard my name before and I glance at Paul. "They speak of you, the council. They've told me stories of a barbarian with cruel intentions that cowers at the sight of teeth and claw."

Her words make me laugh, everyone hearing it and tensing up.

"I thought you said she was a pale face?" The question the older woman asks is directed to Paul's aunt, concerning my tan skin that's darkened back to its natural color over the course of a few weeks.

"She used to be. When it first happened. She looked as white as snow."

"She only looks healthier because she's gluttonous to feed constantly." Leah's sharp voice cuts in to the conversation and Paul growls at her. "On our land." She adds.

"Deer." He clarifies. "No human blood has fallen on our land by her hands."

"Still repulsive." Leah hisses.

"Leah," Chenoa speaks. "Bite your tongue as well as you bite at this one's throat and you won't get in to any more conflicts with her."

Paul chuckles, and I hold a tight smile, looking at Leah who's puffed up and irritated. She storms off, and Chenoa breathes out.

"Paul, I've been wanting to speak to this cold-one for over a month, now. You've kept her from me."

"I didn't want you to scare her off."

"If she's capable of doing what I've heard she can do, she's not afraid of much."

"I thought you said you've only heard of her cowering?" Paul asks her and she chuckles.

"Seth's told me the truth. I disregard what I hear about her from the council. Bias runs through their veins." She explains.

I hum softly, content knowing she doesn't believe everything that's been said about me.

"If She posed a threat she would have torn this tribe apart." She tells Paul's aunt, who's got a tight scowl on her face. "Do like Leah and leave if you can't be kind, Noore."

The woman does just that, standing, giving me a glare before she walks away.

"Sit." Chenoa orders me, patting the chair beside her.

I follow her command, sitting beside her. She takes my cold hand in her own, not even flinching at the contact. I can't help but feel a warm feeling of pure joy radiate through me from her touch. She's genuinely different from the others. She shows no look of secret hatred towards me. Like Seth, she welcomes everyone and everything, as long as they don't pose a threat.

No stereotypes of Cold-ones phase her. No scary stories dare to affect her decision to be open minded.

I feel my hand gently grip hers as she speaks to me.

I take in everything she says, venturing back to old ways of the Quileute people. How she raised, who her parents were. How she started her interest in a being a medicine woman like her grandmother had been, and how she kept the status of being the Tribe's Shaman even at her old age.

She tells me of her mother's life being taken by a cougar, her father possessed the magic of the Shapeshifter. Her uncle was killed by a vampire, defending Chenoa's cousin against the creature..

A single run in with a cold-one when she was only fourteen encourages her gentle heart towards my kind.

A man was chasing after her and her older sister, ill intent heavy on his mind.

"We ran for what felt like miles. We'd ventured off of our own territory, so no one knew we were in any danger. We got to a cliffs edge, shallow water and heavy rock at the bottom of it. We were trapped." She looks at Paul. "Your great-aunt, Raven, was about to sacrifice herself and offered herself to him as long as he agreed to let me go." She recalls the memory, tears even coming to her eyes. " _He_ came out of nowhere. Like a flash of lightning. I'd only heard stories of them, and seen the proof of what my uncle had suffered after fighting with one, at his burial. Me and Raven both knew we were dead, but he stood between us and the man that had been chasing us. He wouldn't let him touch us. I was afraid he was selfish and wanted to have us for his own...that he wanted to satisfy his thirst for blood." She explains. "The man chasing us was relentless, he tried to grab Raven, but the one protecting us grabbed him. He didn't tear in to any flesh and feast on blood. Instead, he threw him off the cliff's edge."

I look at Paul, he's absorbing all of this like a sponge.

"He had your eyes." She tells me, referring to the golden iris' of my eyes. "He told us he wasn't going to hurt us, he made sure we reached our territory safely and I never saw him again after that, but I could tell he was there anytime I wandered from the tribe. Almost as if he was looking after me."

"What happened to him?" I ask and she exhales calmly.

"My father killed him shortly after I was married, he came on our territory to hunt. I sometimes believe if me or my sister would've told my family about that night, he would've spared him." Her voice is sad, though she has a smile on her face. "They left his remains throughout the Forrest. My sister and I snuck out later that night, collected him and gave him a proper burial at the place he saved our lives."

One of the first of her kind to sympathize with a natural enemy.

"Of course, don't tell anyone here that. You two along with Seth are the only three that know of this."

It's a simple request that I will make sure to most definitely follow, but my eyes fall to Paul who's still processing the story.

"It's safe with me." He tells her in a hushed voice, he seems saddened, and I furrow my brows at him.

Embry and Jared are kicking a soccer ball around and Paul sniffles as if he's holding back tears.

"I'm gonna go goof off for a few minutes." He says to me, pushing down whatever emotion that's surfacing. He has to get away from the heaviness in this air around me and Chenoa.

His lips press to my hair before he goes to his pack.

"My family gets tired of me." The elder says next. "I confuse them with my outstretched hand at times."

"You're not quick to think you're above anyone or anything." I defend her against herself. "That's a very honorable trait to carry."

"So is defending a tribe of people who hate you." She replies. "Seth says you run with them to chase away the woman that runs through these forests in search of the human who caused her mate to be killed."

"I'd run with them to chase away any threat." It's solid coming from my mouth. There is no room for bluffing.

Regardless of how they feel about me, I'd die for any one of them.

"You're making history within this land."

I look at her, brows slightly furrowed.

"Years from now, the legend will be told of the cold-one who cried and ran with the mighty Wolves defending their people. It will be added to our history, a milestone of alliance between fur and stone." She says it as if she's a prophetess, speaking it in to existence, washing me with its guarantee. "And I'll make sure to witness it, in spirit or physical. You'll always have my blessings, Woman of Stone."

•

"I love her." I say to Paul when we get back later in the night. "Your Grandmother. I love her."

"Yeah, she's always been gracious to anyone who'd let her be. I appreciate her acceptance of us. Her and Seth are the only ones in our corner. Everyone else tolerates it...better than others." He explains, walking to his bathroom. "I gotta piss. Gimme a second."

"Wow, that's sexy." I reply in a faux seductive voice and he lets out a "ha!".

Chenoa's words come back to me.

 _The legend will be told of the cold-one who cried and ran with the mighty Wolves, defending their people. It will be added to our history, a milestone of alliance between fur and stone._

Words so sacred to me, I'd have them tattooed on me if I knew I wouldn't heal and discard the marking.

Paul's in the kitchen, washing his hands before he reaches for a pack of peanut butter and cheese crackers on the counter.

I watch him, eating each cracker, until they're devoured and he pours the crumbs in to his mouth.

"What?" He asks me, his brown eyes wide as if he's been caught doing something he's not supposed to do.

"I love you." Is all I can manage to say.

It's true. I do love him more than he could ever possibly imagine.

"I love you more." He states, crumpling he plastic wrapping in his hands before throwing it away.

"Are you okay?" I ask him.

We didn't have time to assess the damage to each other from last night. He was too give out and slept half the day away. When he woke up we had to get ready for Chenoa's celebration.

"My back hurts. Your damn python legs bruised the bottom of my spine, I'm pretty sure." He teases and I scoff. "My knees were bruised up pretty bad from your hands but they're healed up by now. My pubic bone's sore, too."

"That's your fault. Not mine." I defend myself. "You were the one giving unnecessarily hard thrusts."

"I got caught up." He shoots back.

"I'm glad we didn't do anything when I was human or I'd have a fracture pubic bone." I point out and he narrows his eyes at me.

"I would've been more gentle if you were fragile. But you aren't. You can take what I give you like a champ because I'm not dating a little bitch."

This statement has me laughing as he walks to me, lips pulling in to a huge grin.

He kisses me, holding my jaw with one hand.

"I have patrol again tonight." He tells me.

"Ugh." I groan, sighing.

"I know." He says calmly. "I don't like leaving you."

"You went on patrol the other night. Isn't it someone else's turn?"

"I think Sam's punishing me for what happened between us." He's been hesitant to say the truth, but he finally does.

"Punishing you for sleeping with your imprint?"

"Punishing me for going against nature and having sex with a vampire. It's an abomination in their eyes.

"It's sacred in mine." I argue and he rests his forehead to mine.

"Mine, too." He admits. "It'll be okay. Things will smooth over eventually."

He doesn't offer many words of optimism, but when he does, it calms me. I believe him, nodding my head as he kisses my cheek.

"See you in the morning." He tells me sweetly.

One last taste of his lips, and he's gone, shutting the door behind him before shifting.

For the first time in weeks, I'm left alone to myself.

The demons I've been distracting myself from come out to taunt me.

I shove them away and look around the empty house. It's a little messy, giving me a reason to clean it. Giving me a reason to do something else other than acknowledge any shred of grief I might feel.

I swing the cabinets under the sink open. And there's a new demon taunting me.

A heavy bottle with thick glass that holds something I would've thought a miracle cure to such pain I'm trying to ward off.

I slam the cabinet.

Taking several breaths that I don't need, it's a habit of trying to calm myself.

The wooded cabinet opens again and I grab the bottle.

It sits on the counter, staring at me because I refuse to take a sip.

I'm rolling my jaw, trying to think happy thoughts. Good things that will make me smile.

 _My mother's dead._

That's the only thought coming to mind.

 _My father's dead._

Another thought.

 _My brother's dead._

Another.

 _My mother is dead_.

It hits harder this time. This demon in particular dies hard.

The lid of the whiskey is thrown down, the burning liquid greeting my throat and my mouth.

It tastes worse than what it did when I was human. I'm repulsed, but the drunken high I know I'll feel from it keeps me motivated.

I chug the _entire_ bottle.

It warms my entire body, but it's not giving me a buzz like it usually does.

I wait longer, praying for the paralyzing shit-faced-drunk stage to hit me like a truck. Paul will be mad, disappointed. But I don't care. I'm already viewed in his family as selfish. Might as well let them get one thing about me right.

I sit on the couch, waiting and waiting, nothing. Not even a little tipsiness.

It's been an hour before I know it and I'm not feeling a thing, just ashamed and weak.

My eyes sting, wanting to cry but unable to. I need to cry. I haven't, I haven't even mourned my mother and it's almost been a month since her passing.

I start pacing in the kitchen, panic settling over me. Why am I not drunk? Why am I still more than aware of reality? A sob comes from my throat. A sob that can't be accompanied by tears.

Overwhelming sadness hits me like a wave. It's crippling in its wake.

My mother's laugh, the smell of her perfume, her sweet smile. Her heart, her kindness, the way she'd aggravate my father. My brother, Antwon, someone I don't speak of at all because it's far too much to accept. Someone else I haven't mourned, either.

All I can see now is myself standing in front of him, watching him give me one last smile, tears streaming down his face as the fierce speed of a locomotive crushes his body on the track.

Only fourteen when he let his own demons win the war that waged between them.

That was the year I moved to America.

 _I want to cry_.

I'm not drunk, the alcohol just burning me.

I scream, angry, sad, frustrated, needing to get emotion out and cry but my body won't let me. So I scream.

The whiskey I swallowed comes back up, burning coming back up more than it did going down.

And there's so much of it.

I scream more, hitting the floor, my clothes and the wood beneath me soaked in poison.

 _I want to cry._

My hand reaches for the empty bottle and I throw it as hard as I can at the wall in front of me. It shatters, sending shards of glass flying everywhere.

 _I want to cry._

Shaking hands find a large scrap of sharp glass. I'm about to stab my eyes out, needing some sort of fucking relief.

A hit hand traps my wrist though, stopping me.

I see Seth. The light around him sends the demons to scatter.

He's almost crying himself, looking around the house. Smelling the thick stench of whiskey. It's venomous.

I drop the glass in my hand, my eyes feeling as if they're on fire now.

"I'm sorry." I say with a horrible tremor to my tone. "I'm so sorry." I shake my head.

 _I'm pathetic._

I can take heat from my boyfriend's family, I can laugh in the face of animals that can kill me, I hold my head high at the threat of an army of newborns coming for our heads...but _dead_ people have me weak.

"I'm sorry." I repeat it again and Seth shakes his head.

"It's okay." He says calmly. "Mari," he's helping me up, careful to avoid the glass on the floor.

He's young. No one should be seeing something like this at the age of fifteen.

I'm sure I'm crushing his hand in my grip as we make our way to Paul's bedroom.

He sits me on the bed, getting to work on finding clean clothes for me.

He's grabbing a T-shirt of Paul's, putting it on the bed.

I stare off, my hands bunching in to the covers of Paul's bed.

He grabs a pair of Paul's boxers and puts the clothes on the bed beside me.

"I'll be right out here, ok, Mari?" He tells me and I shake my head.

"I can't do it, Seth." I whisper. "I'm not fine. I haven't been in years. I'm realizing that now." I confess and he sighs, sitting beside me.

"My dad died, Mari." He says to me, lowly. "I ignored it for a while, but then I couldn't. I had a come apart so big, it made me shift for the first time." He explains, grabbing my hand. "It's kinda first instinct for me to push everything down and keep going on, pretending I'm okay. My mom and Leah were broken by it...the day of his funeral everyone was thanking me for being so strong. I didn't shed a tear, ya know? I thought I needed to be strong for everyone. I didn't give myself the time to be affected too bad by it. Until one day, I realized I was lying to myself. To my family. I've always been the happiest of everyone, optimistic, trying to make everyone feel better. I couldn't properly make others happy without making sure I actually was. I felt like a hypocrite." He explains. "But after I let that go, after I allowed myself to let whatever was hurting me, in, I was okay."

There's a silence between us.

"I don't know your beliefs on death, but I believe there's a place for everyone in this world, and there's a place for everyone that leaves this world. I believe when someone dies, they go somewhere happier, and have the chance to become parts of this world, momentarily, to act as comfort to us. Like, uh, sometimes I still smell my dad in the wind. It's faint but it brings me peace. And at night, sometimes I'll look up, and just knowing he's out there somewhere, it's the most incredible feeling to know he's watching over me."

I look at him, licking my lips.

"My father was killed. It sent my little brother, Antwon, in to a horrible depression. We used to play at the train yard when we were very little, it wasn't active back then, until it started up again. He always told me he'd go there when he was feeling particularly hopeless and imagine we were little again. He said it'd bring him momentary peace. I always wondered if it brought him so much peace, why did he go there to kill himself. I watched it, I watched him stand there on a track and allow himself to be hit. He and my father were so close. He let it destroy him. I don't want my mother's death to destroy me, Seth." I shake my head, needing to cry again.

"Just let yourself hurt, Mari. Just let it be painful."

Being a flight animal by nature, the ability to not run from myself is hard. But I sit there, anchoring myself to Seth, letting his hold on my hand keep me there and I finally let myself welcome those demons.

 _I want to cry._

* * *

 ** _If you or anyone you know is struggling with depression and/or is thinking of committing suicide, please call_ 1-800-273-8255. **


	10. Nine: Paul

" _I don't mean to come off aggressive_

 _I'm just here to pass off the message_

 _'Cause you were in my head when_

 _I thought I lost my mind_

 _But we do this every time_

 _Cause there's something that you're doing has me falling all the way_

 _I'm tripping off your love and all the other drugs we taking_

 _Over all the others, you're the one all over me_

 _I need your therapy, need your therapy"_

— _Khalid,_ _ **Therapy**_

 _ **Paul**_

Their judgement is thick in my head still.

Leah's words whispered as if I feel her in my ear.

 _Abomination_.

Sam's not talking to me, aside from telling me about having patrol tonight.

I left Marisela about an hour ago, keeping up with Quil and Jared as we stay on guard. Watchful eyes narrow at the sound of something very, very faint.

A scream.

Marisela's scream.

 _I'm on it_ , Seth says, apparently he's near my house anyway.

 _Tell me what's going on, please_ , I plead with him. I want to turn and see what's wrong, but Sam would have my head.

 _She's been drinking. Well trying to drink_ , Seth informs me.

 _Damnit_ , I hiss to myself. _I should've thrown that damn bottle out_.

 _Go see what's wrong_ , Jared tells me.

 _Yeah_ , _we'll take it from here_ , Quil adds.

I run as fast as I can back to my house, mile after mile.

When I arrive, I see the mess on the floor. The air reeks of whiskey and glass scatters the floor. I hear her sobs from my bedroom and I ignore the sharp pain in my feet from the whiskey coated glass sticking in my feet.

I open the door, seeing Marisela on my bed room floor, her head resting on Seth's knee. Her arm's wrapped around his calf, and his hand is holding her hair back to keep it from getting in the whiskey on her clothes and skin.

Jealousy doesn't even begin to start at the sight of them. It's so pitiful that I know there's nothing to be jealous of. She's sticky, her clothes and skin beaded with gurgled up alcohol.

My mate.

My imprint.

She's a broken, damaged mess. Sulking and crying with tears she's not capable of producing.

I feel myself being drawn to her, slowly, and naked. But that doesn't bother her, nor Seth, at the moment. He's too worried about her to make snarky comments about my dick being out.

"Mari?" I ask gently, crouching to her level and those golden eyes meet mine.

Her water line's red. Bright red. As if she's been crying immensely.

"Mari," I repeat, her hand gently brushes against my jaw, lips shaking as she tries to speak to me.

"I'm sorry." She tells me hoarsely.

She stinks, spit up whiskey doesn't suit her.

"I'll go clean up the mess." Seth mumbles. Before he can get away, she's grabbing his hand, stopping him.

He looks down at her, before he gets at her level like I am. Empty eyes fall on brown ones, and cold, whiskey stained lips press to tan skinned cheek in an endearing way. Like a sister to a brother, she hugs him to her, whispering a thank you that I can't hear.

He squeezes her tightly before releasing her, leaving us alone.

"You need a shower." I tell her calmly and she nods.

I help her up, knowing she has all of her strength physically, but the transition she's endured doesn't fix mental imperfections, only physical.

Hot water hits the shower wall and I turn back to her. She's seated in the closed toilet, hunched over and focused on the floor.

I help her take her clothes off, taking the dirty garments and toss them in to the sink.

She's naked, about to sit back down but I stop her with my arm, walking her to the shower.

I get in first, then I guide her in.

She's closing her eyes, letting the hot water wash the sticky drink from her skin. I help the process, wiping my hands up and down her arms, across her chest, her stomach, her legs.

She's stone, stoic, until I run my fingers through her tangled hair, carefully allowing my fingers to unravel every knot.

Her hands come up and rest at the base of my neck. A sweet smell of her mixes with the steam of the shower and I shake my head, my jaw clenching, as I focus my fingers on continuing to smooth out her hair.

"None is that right now." I say sternly, and she frowns slightly. "You're feeling a lot right now. Im not taking advantage of that."

"I want you." She argues lowly, lips brushing my neck.

"You want a distraction, Mari. I love you, but you need to rest."

"Like I can actually sleep." She hisses harshly and I grab her wrists in my hands, only causing the sweet smell to grow.

"Marisela." Her name coming from my mouth causes the smell to intensify and I pull away from her.

I finish washing her, going over her skin with soap and condition her hair.

The water turns off, and I step from the shower, wrapping a towel around my waist. I see her foggy reflection behind me, drying herself off.

She's trying to entice me...well, trying to get me to act on my existing enticement.

I ignore it, but feel cold hands slip up my back, exploring the muscles, before a tongue traces my spine like mine did hers last night.

I snap around, glaring down at her, my nostrils flaring with frustration. I want to plop her down on the counter and screw her in to next week but I refuse to. This isn't the right time. She just doesn't see that yet.

Full lips touch to mine, rough and hungry. I give her this, allowing her to get some sort of taste of distraction, but when her hand trails down my abdomen and grabs at me, I pull away and put distance between us.

"No." I say to her, growling.

She sees what she's been trying to do, running from her grief, again.

The water line of her eyes turn pale red again as she looks as if she's trying to cry again.

"I'm sorry." She says for god knows how many times tonight.

"Don't be." I shake my head, hugging her to me. My lips press to her wet hair, my arms keep her still. We exit the bathroom and she gets dressed in one of my shirts and a pair of my boxers.

I throw on a pair of boxers and go to see if Seth needs any help.

I'm met with slight shock.

Seth, Embry, Jared, Quil, Sam, Emily and even Leah are sitting in the living room. They see me and stand, all of them but Leah look concerned.

"Seth told us." Leah says roughly.

"She's Fine." I huff out. "No thanks to any of you. Aside from Seth." I cut my eyes at them, honing in at Leah and Sam.

"Paul—"

"No, Sam. I've listened to you for a long time, now. _You_ listen to _me_. She's been nothing, and I mean _nothing_ , but helpful to this pack. To this fucking tribe. And all anyone has done is ridicule her and place bets on when she's going to kill everyone. Do you idiots not fucking realize what that does to her? What that does to me? I expect that kind of shit from everyone else. But from my pack? People who're like my siblings, who can dig in my mind and see exactly how I feel about her? Cold-one or not, that's my fucking imprint in there. And none of you, I mean none of you, have been a help lately. Emily and Seth are the only ones that have shown her any kindness. A half-ass smile doesn't mean shit, Embry, Jared, when you're biting your tongue from saying something bitchy to her." I call them out for not speaking to Mari today and they sigh, looking down. "Leah, what the fuck about her being my imprint before she changed, can't you get through your thick skull? Do you think I just went out and found a vampire to get my dick wet?" The words are thrown at her with a hint of growl and even she looks ashamed for her actions. "Sam." I look back to my alpha. "You out of everyone here should know what this feels like. Don't you dare think everyone was happy when you dropped Leah a day after meeting Emily. But you did because of the bond pulling you to her. I didn't like this at first, I hated it. Everything in me was screaming at me because it goes against nature. But grandmother Chenoa taught me something today. We're bias because of the harm her kind has done to ours. So bias that we don't want to see goodness in any of them because of what we've already endured. But I know her. I know exactly who my cold-one is. She isn't manipulative, she isn't sneaky. She's to be feared, yes, but she recognizes that we are, too. Maybe she doesn't respect you, Sam, because you don't respect her. It's pathetic that it takes her having a fucking break down in order for you to want to talk things out with her." I direct towards him and Leah. "Although I'm pretty sure the only reason you're here is to make sure she doesn't slaughter anyone in her state."

They don't answer, letting me know I'm right. I laugh, knowing if I don't laugh I'll cry and lunge at them.

" _Fuck off_." I sneer at them, turning my back before I go back to my bedroom and slam the door, shaking the walls.

Marisela's laying in the bed, curled up, resting her eyes.

I slide in next to her and she cuddles in to me, her arm resting across my abdomen.

"Have mercy on them." She mumbles softly against the skin of my neck. "They know not what they do."

"They know damn well what they're doing."

"Paul." She says my name a little more serious, leaning up to look at me. "It's hard to change a way of thinking when they're raised to think that way."

"I did." I grumble, my eyes closed.

The weight of her is on my pelvis as she sits, hand pressed to my chest while the other angles my face up to look at her.

"It was easier for you because I'm your imprint." She points out. "I don't like them, either, I hate their judgement. But I understand where it comes from, Paul."

I exhale, my hands in my hair before going to her thighs. I take in the view of her straddling me, the apex of her thighs resting exactly where I need it.

She raises a brow, sensing the hum of pleasure within me before she smiles.

"Not the time." She repeats my words, lips brushing against mine before she rolls off of me.

I don't argue, letting her be. I just turn on my side to face her, my arm sliding under her shirt to hold her just under her breast, my fingers flexing to gently knead the flesh of her top rib. She relaxes, sighing out before I close my eyes and feel sleep take over my senses.

I the shining sun in my room wakes me, and I look down at Marisela. She's not moved an inch, in-fact, she's managed to get closer to me, turned and having a leg hooked around my waist. My hand at was on her ribs is still there, and I smile to myself.

I press a kiss to her closed eyelids and she opens them, smiling back at me.

"How do you feel?" I ask her calmly.

"Fine." She replies. "You?"

"Best sleep ever." I say honestly.

"Good." She speaks, sitting up.

I follow her out of my room to my kitchen.

My body suddenly hits the floor in the living room, tripping over something. I scowl to see Jared laying in the floor.

"What the hell?!" I grumble out, and he groans.

"Stop yelling, damn." He yawns, sitting up.

I look around and see everyone laying down. Leah on the couch, Seth in a recliner, Quil _on_ the coffee table, Embry on the floor by the couch and Jared by the coffee table.

Marisela comes to stand by me, noticing them all for the first time.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I ask them all as they wake, stretching and groaning out exhaustion.

"We were worried." Jared says muffled by a yawn. He sees her, and scrambles. "Mari!" He shouts, tackling her to the floor, hugging her tightly. The others follow, holding her there as she takes their weight. Leah steps to the pile and raises an annoyed brow at the guys.

They finally let Mari sit up, and that's when they all hug her tightly. The smile that stretches across her face makes me smile, too. For the first time, they're treating her as they did when she was human. No more tip toeing around her, only joking and being kind to her out of the sheer reason of avoiding an argument.

Her waterline of her eyes is red again, but this is from happiness, not sorrow. She takes the time to hug each of them tightly to her. I know she's missed them.

She hugs Embry the tightest, causing a breath to leave him at the pressure on his body, she loosens her grip but doesn't let him go. He's not arguing, his arms snaking around her.

He isn't Seth. This isn't like a brother and sister. It's ex-lovers.

 _Don't worry. She smells so much like you I can't even enjoy it_ , Embry says telepathically and I smirk as he pulls away from her.

Leah has her arms crossed, her lips pressed together in a thin line.

Golden eyes glare at a she-wolf.

A cold hand extends to a warm one. Leah stares at her hand a while before she licks her lips. She takes the hand in hers.

"I'm sorry." She tells Marisela.

"I am, too." My girlfriend replies.

It's not a perfect exchange, but it'll do for now.

I'm happy that my words from last night are actually being acknowledged.

"I'm starving." I think aloud and they all look at me.

"Emily's." We all say at the same time.

"Let me Get clothes on." I tell them, stepping to my room and they all head to the cars they came in.

I brush my teeth, Marisela doing the same when I'm done, and I go to my room to put on shorts and a shirt and she follows.

"Your black shorts are in the dryer. I cleaned up some when you were getting ready for the party yesterday." I tell her and she nods, heading towards the washer and dryer to get her black cotton shorts and a couple of other items of clothing of hers that littered my floor.

She comes back in my room, still in my shirt and I look her up and down.

"What?" She asks me, confusion on her face.

"I might just have to eat breakfast here." I say and she furrows her brows. It's isn't until her back hits the mattress as I tug at her shorts that she realizes what I mean.

She's laughing, gently kicking me off.

"No, we don't need to be late."

"We don't?"

"No!" She squeals, when she tries to go for the door but I pin her underneath me. My lips pressing to her stomach, descending lower. "Okay, five minutes." She says reluctantly and I chuckle, pulling at her shorts and panties.

"I can have you finished in two minutes." I argue playfully and she laughs, my lips pressing to her inner thigh.

•

We get to Emily's, everyone looking at us from the table.

"Thought you guys were right behind us." Seth teases and I shake my head a little, grabbing my plate of food on the counter.

"I'm surprised you're still hungry." Jared adds my way and Emily chokes on her orange juice and glares at him.

I feel a blush creep to my cheeks and Marisela looks at me briefly with dark eyes.

"Today we're doing some more training." Sam informs me.

"With the Cullens?" Seth asks him.

"No, the pack." He replies, looking at Marisela. "You think you can fight us without breaking anything?"

"I'm more than capable." She tells him.

"We'll Try to be gentle." Jared says to her and she raises a brow.

"Don't go easy on her just because she's my imprint." I state with a mouth full of food and she looks at me.

"Oh, really?" She asks, crossing her arms.

I can feel the irritation ebbing at her, and she leans against the kitchen counter as everyone finishes. They head outside and Emily clears off the table before she goes outside to watch the boys.

I look at Marisela, her ass is sticking out and when I grab my plate to get seconds, I purposely push my front against her, making it seem accidental and she clenches her fists.

I smile, humming, before I press a kiss to her cheek.

She's turning to face me, lips pressing to mine. I damn near drop the plate in the my hands, my knees weakening.

The glass of the plate rattles against the counter when I toss it beside her, pushing her onto the counter, her legs wrapping around my waist.

"They'll be back any second." She warns me lowly, my lips capturing the healed skin I bit in to at Training yesterday.

"Let them." I whisper back, kissing her roughly, our tongues mingling together.

A soft moan scrapes from her throat and I chuckle.

"Paul!" We hear Quil call from outside. "Your girlfriend gonna come do the ass kicking she's been threatening us with or not?!"

"Are you?" I ask her with a raised brow.

"Oh, yeah." She nods, kissing me chastely before hopping off the counter.

•

"Another one bites the dust!" Jared shouts, cheering as Marisela has Quil on the ground, his leg bending abnormally as he barks out his yielding to her.

She gets off of him immediately, making sure he's okay. He's fine, his ego just hurt.

"That's an unfair fight." I say with crossed arms. "Quil's merely a baby. He just turned recently."

"She beat Seth, too." Embry points out.

"He's a puppy." I argue. "Give her some real muscle to chew on."

"What, like Sam?" Embry suggests, jokingly, but I look at Marisela and Marisela looks at me.

Her face is serious, considering the challenge.

It doesn't matter if she wants to or not, she's going to regardless. I'll make sure if it. She needs to show them exactly what she's capable of. She doesn't need to continue to hold back, afraid to hurt us.

I look at her sternly, nodding my head once and she clenches her jaw.

"Fine." She hisses the word and I look at Sam.

"That's my cue to go back inside and prepare an ice pack." Emily says under her breath and I chuckle as she walks back inside.

Sam shifts, skin to fur, and growls out at Marisela.

It happens in a blur.

Mari _runs_ from him. It's only instinct, just like Sam chasing her. She makes it half way to the tree line before she's attacked, jumped on. She kicks him off, sending him sliding across the ground, scraping the first layer of skin on him.

The faint of blood hits our nostrils, and I look at Marisela, worried.

She doesn't dare lose her composure, facing him with a look of determination in her eyes.

He stands tall after getting up, letting a ground shaking roar rattle the air.

He runs for her, she doesn't run this time.

The second he gets to her, she's siding under his body, between his legs. Grabbing his back ankle, pulling his feet out from under him.

He's fast, lunging up after he falls, grabbing her arm in his jaws.

She doesn't panic. Her leg raises high, even with her shoulder, as she kicks his jaw.

He whines loudly, releasing her arm in the shock of sharp pain.

She circles him waiting for him to bounce back.

"You're not proving to be the superior species." She taunts him. This sets him off again and he's pinned her under his paws, his teeth centimeters from her face when he roars out again.

He's on her for too long in my mind, the art of intimidation his strong suit as he tenses up at her, mouth open, deciding whether to lock around her neck to snap her head off her body or not. But she's relentless in her own fight. Refusing to submit to him, refusing to turn her neck to those sharp teeth that are bared in front of her eyes.

If she weren't my imprint, her actions would have her killed.

I shift, pouncing on Sam to get him off of her, growling loudly at him.

 _Don't think about it_! I scream at him in my mind and he curls his lip at me.

 _I wasn't going to hurt her, Paul_ , He replies roughly.

 _Your stance said otherwise_ , I hiss.

 _She's disrespectful_ , He growls.

I shake dirt off of my fur, getting to my feet.

I walk over to Marisela's who's still on the ground, glaring at Sam.

I nuzzle in to her neck, my tongue licking her sweet skin and she grins, hugging me to her.

She stands up, brushing herself off before she's met face to face with Sam's large form that's demanding the show of neck.

"You're their Alpha. Not mine. Learn that quickly, _Wolf_." Her tone holds a warning and black lips curls up to reveal sharp teeth that could easily shred her apart.

She has the gall to the turn her back on him, knowing she's untouchable, before she makes her way back in to Emily's house.

"Anyone else kinda turned on by her right now or...?" Jared asks, looking at us.

I can _smell_ his fucking want.

I go for his throat and he's shifted before I can get to him.

I pin him down, teeth sinking in to his furry flesh. He screeches out, kicking hind legs. His claws tear in to my stomach but I don't let go of him until he's worn out and given up, limp as he takes shallow breaths.

I'm pulled off of him by the scruff of my neck by Sam's teeth.

Jared's whimpering a little as he heals.

 _Serves you right_ , I growl out to him.

I go back to human form, grabbing my shorts I pulled off and I pull them on. I go back in to the house, my eyes meeting Marisela's.

"It was a fucking joke, Paul, damn." Jared groans, holding his sore stomach when he comes in, going to lay on the couch.

"Yeah, a joke." I grumble.

 _That's why your dick was almost busting a seam in your damn shorts_ , I glare at him.

"Are you punishing me for being a guy?!" His eyes are cut at me as he throws his hands up.

"I have to go talk to Carlisle." She says and we all look at her.

"What? Why?" I ask and she raises a brow.

"If It were your business, I'd tell you." She replies, defiantly. It causes a tension to settle in the air, an angry one from me.

She walks past me, telling me she'll "be right back" before she leaves.

I follow her, taking my shorts off and shifting. I grab my shorts in my mouth and start running to catch up with her.

When we get to their territory, she stops running and walks.

"Thought I told you to stay out of it?" She cuts me with her tone and I shift back.

"Hey," I grab her arm, forcing her to look at me. "I'm not Sam. You're not gonna talk to me like I'm you're little bitch. K?"

She grinds her teeth together.

"We were fine like an hour ago. What's changed between then and now?" I ask her and she blinks slowly.

"I just need to talk to Carlisle."

"Talk to me!" I shout, it sounds like a plead. "I-I'm tired of the secrets, Mari. Shit, anytime something's going on with you, everyone and their brother knows before I do."

"You wouldn't understand, Paul." She sighs, rubbing her forehead.

I take a very heavy breath before I nod a little.

"You go talk to him, then." The words are sharp, coming from my mouth. My body is telling me to calm my temper, not wanting to risk hurting her or her feelings. But I'm lost to my hot-headedness. "Maybe you'll love talking to him and everyone else in that god damn hell house that you'll just stay the hell there."

The rim of her eyes is light red, a sign she wants to cry but can't.

"Fine." I sigh. "I'll stay. Go talk to him." I motion to the house that's in the distance.

She turns, at the door of the house within the blink of an eye. I make my way there after I shift again, laying down on the ground under a tree that sits next to the deck.

I'm selfish, listening to their conversation that takes place inside, only feet away from the door that leads to the deck.

"I can touch them. Easily." I hear her tell him in a low whisper.

"I saw that, when we were training."

"It's uncomfortable but bearable, barely. Edward says when he grabbed Jacob after he kissed Bella, it burnt his hands."

"We're sensitive to heat." The cold/one explains to her.

"I realize that, so why is it not affecting me so intensely?"

"A healer's hands don't discriminate." He informs her.

 _So she can barely touch me. That's great_. I grumble to myself.

"You're able to heal anyone and anything you choose to. If you were unable to touch them, you wouldn't be able to heal them. You should be grateful. Your gift is a blessing to have, especially having one of them as a mate. You're more tolerable to their temperature."

"Is that why my hunger isn't nearly as strong as a normal newborn? Because I'm created to heal, not destroy?"

"I'm starting to think so. You've shown remarkable restraint."

"I blame it on the threat of death hanging over me constantly." She scoffs and I growl in my chest.

She knows I'd never let any of them hurt her.

They talk some more about this and that, I want to sleep, I'm tired, but I don't.

When she's done, we run back to my house in silence.

I take a shower when I get inside, locking the door behind me. I'm pissed at her, pissed she couldn't tell me why she's flinches when I touch her sometimes. I always thought she was scared I was going to hit her, I didn't know actually touching me brought her discomfort.

I feel guilty, can't even imagining what having sex with me is like. The inside of her is more sensitive than the outside, so if touching me on the outside is barely bearable, having me inside her must be like a scorching open flame.

I cut the water of the shower off, wrapping a towel around my hips. She's sitting on my bed, in one of my shirts. I put sweatpants on and get under the covers, turning to face away from her. I turn the lamp off on my bedside table she'd turned on, and lay in the darkness.

She shifts beside me, still sitting up. She knows I'm upset with her, I can tell because I can smell her lust. My temper pleases her in some sick way, which is fine because her own angry ways please me, too.

"I wouldn't let anyone hurt you." The words fall from my lips. "Hopefully those words eliminate the _threat of death constantly over you_."

"Paul." She starts lowly. "You know what I meant."

The mattress dips under me as she gets closer, a cold arm sliding around my waist.

"Don't burn yourself." I mumble cruelly and she tenses up, pulling away.

It's quiet between us for the longest time before I speak again.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

More silence.

"I didn't want you to think you were hurting me any time you touch me. Any time any of you touch me. Like I told Carlisle, it's bearable, Paul. I endure it because I like being close to you. It's not the end of the world."

"What about when I'm in you?" I snarl. "Is that bearable? Because the way you were taking earlier makes me think it feels like someone sticking a lit match in you."

"Paul," my name from her lips sounds sacred. I clench my jaw, refusing to let it affect me.

I don't answer and she exhales, her leg hooking over my hip, her arm holding me to her.

"It feels good, anytime you're in me." Her words are said against the skin on the back of my neck.

My eyes squeeze closed as blood rushes to the part of me that I really don't need blood to go right now.

"It makes me feel human because I feel that warmth, that _heat_ , everywhere. It spreads throughout my entire body. So for a few minutes my body's the temperature it was when I was human and it feels good."

"You could've told me that. You could be honest with me, you know, I'm not gonna bite you or scream at you for being honest with me."

I turn to face her, and she puts a palm flat to the side of my face.

There's more silence between us.

"What does it feel like for you?" She asks in a hushed whisper, almost embarrassed to ask the question. "To be in me?"

"It gives me a high." I admit. "Not just a sex high, like it actually does something to me."

I know it's the bond of her being my imprint that causes me to be like an addict getting a fix.

She's quiet, her lips descending on to my neck, her hand on my chest.

"You're turning me in to a _fiend_." I breathe out.

I grab her, getting on top of her, wrapping my arm under her. She arches her back, her tongue rolling against mine, teeth meeting my lips before we're lost to each other.


End file.
